After Steve Diamond’s shock departure, Jon Newcombe looks at the highs and lows of his time as DoR of Sale Sharks

SALE SHARKS were rock bottom of the Premiership and staring into the abyss when Steve Diamond took over as head coach at the end of December 2012.
More often than not – ten times out of 14 up to that point – the team entering the festive period in 12th place would go on to be relegated.
Only London Irish in 1997/98, Newcastle (2002/03), Northampton (2004/05) and Leeds (2009/10) had bucked the trend.
The Sharks were a shambles with Bryan Redpath having been demoted earlier in the s...