'We could be accused of emulating other clubs and we do pinch other people's ideas... plagiarism is part of the deal'
South African rugby can breathe easy again as Sale boss Steve Diamond has revealed his raid on the country’s rugby talent is complete after Tuesday’s latest business took the Gallagher Premiership club right up to the £7m salary cap.
Having stayed 30 per cent below that salary cap figure for this season’s campaign, Diamond has now signed brothers Robert, Jean-Luc and Daniel du Preez, Akker van der Merwe and Coenie Oosthuizen from the Durban-based Sharks along with Springbok second row Lood de Jager. They join resident South Africans Jono Ross, Faf de Klerk and Rohan Janse van Rensburg at the club.
Besides creating two packs of Premiership class forwards based on South African muscle and a back line featuring England wings Chris Ashton and Denny Solomona, Diamond is now targeted the club’s small fan base.
Having beefed up his playing squad, he is aiming to take the average attendance from a disappointing 5,000 to 9,000 next season and quadruple the number of season ticket holders to make the club financially viable in a city dominated by two Premier League football clubs.
Diamond admits to plagiarising Saracens, the London club who used South African talent to get their title-winning run off the ground in 2011. However, he believes that with Sale being the only Premiership rugby club in the north of England, it is time to build a brand despite the domination of football in the region.
VIDEO | Dimes discusses all things recruitment ahead of next season! ? @UKFast #SharkTimehttps://t.co/wZnd5BiuG2
— Sale Sharks ? (@SaleSharksRugby) May 14, 2019
“It is now time to put the recruiting pen down,” he said. “The investors Simon Orange and Ged Mason have said that over a three-year period we would get an opportunity to spend to full salary cap and in the eight years I have been here we have never done that.
“This season we are 25-30 per cent behind the Newcastles and Worcesters, never mind the big spending clubs. It was always in the business plan to go to the salary cap next season and in doing so we looked at the quality of player we would require.
“We wanted people who were aged between 23-27, which most of them are with the exception of Coenie, and to have proven track records. They also need the character to live in Manchester and try and help make Sale a sporting force in the city.
Working Link ??https://t.co/CFcELbgVqg
— Sale Sharks ? (@SaleSharksRugby) May 14, 2019
“The new boys will come around to the way we play which is an abrasive style. The size of these players brings real ballast to the team. We could be accused of emulating other clubs and we do pinch other people’s ideas. Plagiarism is part of the deal.
“We will need to get the players integrated and deal with a difficult pre-season with the international players coming back later after the World Cup. That means it will be a freak year but by Christmas time we will hopefully have everyone settled in.
“We can never emulate the icons of football in Manchester and the local area and we need to understand where our core support is. We need to get the crowds in because that is the only way we can sustain it.
“Leeds have gone into administration while Newcastle are in the Championship, which means there is only us flying the flag for rugby union in the north of England.”
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Good summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
1 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
1 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
1 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
5 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
45 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
45 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
5 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
8 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
2 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
8 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
5 Go to comments