Sale boss Steve Diamond responds to reports team 'partied' after cup win - Ruck
Rugby News

Sale boss Steve Diamond responds to reports team ‘partied’ after cup win

4 October 2020
Rugby Rucker
Sale Sharks boss Steve Diamond has spoken to BT Sport tonight regarding their fixture being postponed against Worcester Warriors until Wednesday.

That game is still dependent on a number of factors being met, including a further round of coronavirus testing at Sale on Tuesday.

The 16 positive tests at the Sharks also forced Northampton Saints — who lost 34-14 to Sale on Tuesday — to forfeit their match at Gloucester, who receive five league points. 

And controversially, The Telegraph has reported that Sharks players went drinking into the early hours after winning the Premiership Cup Final, just 10 days before the the club returned the positive tests.

The club confirmed that the players had “a couple of beers” but strongly deny that this was the source of the outbreak.

Diamond then responded to the reports that players went into Manchester city centre, where the rate of infection is high, following the final directly when speaking to BT Sport, saying: “It’s simple. That didn’t happen.”

He added: “We have followed every single protocol. There is no breach of protocol done deliberately.”

Apart from Northampton, other clubs have maintained a public silence on the issue so far but several are understood to be privately furious that Sale’s match has been moved.

The Premiership’s three highest earning players in every position

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is The-Poetry-of-Jazz-5-1.png

Back-three:

  1. Charles Piutau (Bristol Bears) – £1m
  2. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) – £550k
  3. Mike Brown (Harlequins) – £300k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2209879.jpg

Centre:

  1. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) – £450k
  2. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks) -£350k
  3. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby) – £325k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2237526.jpg

CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

PAGE BREAK

Fly-half:

  1. Owen Farrell (Saracens) – £750k
  2. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints) – £600k
  3. Danny Cipriani (Gloucester) – £450k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2202448-1.jpg

Scrum-half:

  1. Faf De Klerk (Sale Sharks) – £500k
  2. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) – £350k
  3. Danny Care (Harlequins) -£300k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2250630.jpg

CONTINUES ON PAGE 3

PAGE BREAK

Prop:

  1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens) – £420k
  2. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears) -£350k
  3. Vincent Koch (Saracens) – £300k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2065066.jpg

Hooker:

  1. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) – £230k
  2. Jamie George (Saracens) – £200k
  3. Agustin Creevy (London Irish) – £180k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2241689.jpg

CONTINUES ON PAGE 4

PAGE BREAK

Lock:

  1. Maro Itoje (Saracens) – £875k
  2. Joe Launchbury (Wasps) – £420k
  3. Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) – £400k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2176185-1.jpg

Back-row:

  1. Steve Luatua (Bristol Bears) – £550k
  2. Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby) – £425k
  3. Sean O’Brien (London Irish) – £400k
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2018831.jpg