by Jon Newcombe
WORCESTER WARRIORS have appointed Steve Diamond as the club’s lead rugby consultant as they look to maximise the potential within the squad.
The Rugby Paper understands Diamond begins his new role on Monday and will work alongside the existing coaching team at Sixways.
A renowned recruiter, Diamond will play a key role in assisting current head coach Jon Thomas in identifying potential new signings as well as reviewing all other aspects of the rugby department.
The 53-year-old former hooker departed Sale, the club he played for and coached, in January this year and has been looking to get back into Premiership rugby for a while.
He had been linked with Bath but the West Country club opted to go down the consultancy route instead and appointed ex-Saracens CEO Ed Griffiths in a move which has heaped more pressure on under-fire DoR Stuart Hooper.
Now Thomas will be operating under the watchful gaze of Diamond, who has coached over 500 top-flight games and says it how he sees it.
Arguably Worcester‘s best win under Thomas’ tenure came against Sale at the end of October when they put a couple of frightful hammerings at the hands of East Midlands duo, Leicester and Northampton, behind them, to win 27-14.
But only wineless Bath are below them in the Premiership table and co-owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham expect more bang for their buck.
With Diamond on board and a host of leading players set to make welcome returns from injury, the Warriors will hope to see an improvement in results soon.
International quartet, Melani Nanai, Ollie Lawrence, Willi Heinz and Rory Sutherland are all being looked at for a return in the Premiership clash with either Newcastle Falcons on November 27 or the home clash with Wasps at Sixways on December 4.
And Welshman Thomas is confident that it won’t be long before the Warriors add to their tally of two wins from eight in the league.
“We had a bump in the road in the middle of that eight-game block which was really disappointing. It came at a time when we had a lot of injuries, essentially at one point where our whole leadership group at one point was out injured,” he said.
“When there is so much change at a club, winning takes time. The game has always been about combinations and chemistry and time together and I think what you’ll find we’ll get better as the season goes on.”
Thomas stayed tight-lipped when asked about the Diamond rumours earlier in the week but he acknowledges that pressure comes with the job.
“I was an international player at a young age and I think when you grow up in Wales, a small country where the people are very passionate about the game, it is one of those where when you win people think you are brilliant, and when you lose people think you are terrible, and the answer probably lies somewhere in between.
“Players and coaches are used to that, it comes with the job, especially in this competition where there are no easy games and there are fine margins between top and bottom.”
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