Steve Diamond: ‘Rugby still touches people’ as England rekindle hope with Six Nations victories
Steve Diamond believes a resurgent England can lift rugby union’s profile.
Steve Diamond believes a resurgent England can lift rugby union’s profile across the board after witnessing scenes akin to “Manchester United winning the Premier League”.
Newcastle Falcons’ director of rugby has shared the dismay of many at the negativity surrounding the sport since the pandemic – from dire financial figures and clubs going bust to concussion litigation, redundancies and the RFU executive bonus scandal.
When Steve Borthwick’s team were beaten by Ireland in their Six Nations opener to lose for the sixth time in seven games and fall to seventh in the world rankings there seemed, in England at least, little reason to be cheerful.
Witnessing England beat France
But then Diamond went out with friends to watch England take on France in the second round of the tournament. What he witnessed surprised him and gave him renewed hope for his sport.
“We were in a pub in Hale, where I live, watching the game,” he said. “This particular pub is Manchester Utd one game, Manchester City the next. It’s one of the biggest Guinness-selling pubs in the country. It’s mad on sport.
“I’ve been there many times but I tell you I’ve never seen the pub like it was that Saturday for the rugby. Everybody – Man City fans, United, you name it – was there.
“It was an exciting game and when England won it was like United had just won the Premier League.
“Rugby has gone through a real difficult time financially,” he added. “Clubs have been lost and all sorts. But we’ve got to stop talking about Covid and the other negatives and get on.
“What I saw that day tells me rugby still touches people when the game is exciting and the style of play is attractive.
“Yes, it needs players like Marcus Smith and Fin Smith coming through. And yes, ideally it needs games like that where the lead is changing hands.
“But England, by winning a couple of games, have rekindled, certainly for me and the supporters, a lot of hope.”
Premiership Rugby Cup
Diamond’s words are supported by ITV viewing figures which show a peak audience of six million watched England escape to victory over Scotland last weekend and record back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year.
It is just unfortunate much of that momentum will be lost this weekend as the Six Nations takes the weekend off. Worse still, whilst the United Rugby Championship and Top 14 in France return, there is no English Premiership.
Instead, the Premiership Rugby Cup, a competition lacking profile due to the absence of Test stars and mainstream media coverage, takes centre stage.
Friday night sees quarter-final ties between Diamond’s Newcastle and holders Gloucester, and Bath against Harlequins. The following day Exeter Chiefs play Sale Sharks and Northampton Saints entertain Ealing Trailfinders.
Falcons’ media manager Mark Smith lamented the lack of coverage of the competition earlier this month, claiming “not a single word of Prem Cup coverage in any of the national newspapers’ digital versions today (that I can find).”
Whatever side of that debate you come down on it is hard to dispute that such a low-profile weekend, slap bang in the middle of the sport’s shopwindow tournament – is not a significant own goal.
READ MORE: Will Greenwood: England in a ‘dangerous place’ as Steve Borthwick fails to ‘live up to his words’