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'We wouldn't be going down if there was relegation, not a chance'
By Liam Heagney
Steve Diamond has insisted that if there was relegation in place at the end of the current 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership season, the Worcester team he inherited mid-campaign would not be in the 13th and last spot heading into Saturday’s final match. The Warriors are bottom of the pile on 30 points and preparing to host the twelfth place Bath at Sixways this weekend with three points separating the teams.
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Eleventh place Newcastle, who are due at playoff-chasing Northampton, are also on 33 points but with no relegation happening this year and none planned for until summer 2024 when the bottom club in the Premiership will playoff against the top side in the Championship, this weekend’s final round of matches have been robbed of the drama and anxiety traditionally associated with the drop.
Diamond believes in the concept of promotion and relegation and while he is comfortable that there the pressure of going down isn’t associated with their game against Bath, he claimed Worcester would not be bottom going into this final match if there was relegation as he would have approached his role differently during the campaign.
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It was November 29 when Diamond arrived at Worcester as their lead rugby consultant but he was handed control of the first team eight weeks later when head coach Jonathan Thomas departed and it was also confirmed that at the end of the season he would become the director of rugby in place of Alan Solomons for the 2022/23 season onwards.
“I am an advocate of promotion and relegation,” he insisted. “It [no relegation] can engender dead rubber games. If you are trying to grow the sport, nobody wants that. However, there are wiser men than me.
“In America none of the sports have relegation, so let’s see how it goes. Put it this week, I wouldn’t be as relaxed in this conversation with you lot [the media] if we could go down, but if that was the case I don’t think we would be in this position today. If relegation was in force when I got hold of the team we wouldn’t be going down this year, not a chance.”
Would finishing bottom without relegation still dent his pride, though? “It doesn’t bother me, there is no relegation, we won the cup, that’s being perfectly honest but would I heck, nobody wants to finish bottom of the log and the players don’t – the players have got a spirit about them and we proved it a couple of weeks ago (in the Premiership Cup final).
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“It hasn’t been the greatest run-in with the time between games but you know what, the beauty is because we have had the time off when we do come back in all our new players will come back in on the same day so there is a positive to that sort of stuff.”
Numerous players are set to exit Worcester after Saturday. “It’s the cycle of life in rugby. A lot of great guys and great players and it just comes to the end unfortunately for whatever reason, moving on, other opportunities, not working here, various things but I have been really impressed with all of the players at Worcester.
“They are all good lads. I don’t think there is a bad ‘un amongst them. I don’t think they have always been led in the right direction over the years but I can hopefully change that a little bit. It has been a pleasure to work with them and let’s hopefully go out in a good fashion on Saturday.
“The supporters have been fantastic and part of the job moving forward is to make them more inclusive to the players and accessible. It [a win] would end what has been a disappointing league season on a high.”
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What of fellow strugglers Bath, what has Diamond made of their troubles looking on from Worcester? “If you look at the playing roster it is filled with superstars. I can only talk for Worcester these days but there is obviously something that has not clicked… but I can’t get too far away from looking at ourselves. One minute we flatter and the next minute we are a disaster, so let’s hope that doesn’t happen to us at the weekend.”
