Steve Diamond takes over the reins at Worcester Warriors
Steve Diamond takes over the reins at Worcester Warriors as ‘ambitious owners’ make changes in a bid to finish in the top six… with Jonathan Thomas departing after just a year in charge
- Steve Diamond takes over at Worcester Warriors after Jonathan Thomas departs
- The former Sale boss only joined the club as lead rugby consultant in November
- Director of rugby Alan Solomons, 71, is set to retire in June in a club restructure
Steve Diamond is now the main man in charge at Worcester after the Warriors confirmed head coach Jonathan Thomas has left with immediate effect.
Former Sale boss Diamond joined the Sixways outfit in November as lead rugby consultant in a move which always looked like trouble for current director of rugby Alan Solomons and Thomas.
Solomons will retire in June with Diamond taking over on a two-year contract although it is abundantly clear the former Sale boss is running the show already.
Steve Diamond is now in charge at Worcester after head coach Jonathan Thomas left
‘We have a really exciting challenge in front of us and it’s one I am relishing,’ Diamond said.
‘We have enthusiastic owners who have ambitions for the club to be established in the top six of the Gallagher Premiership and playing in the Heineken Champions Cup.
‘Clearly, we are not where we would like to be at the moment as a club.
‘To achieve our ambitions, our results need to improve and changes need to be made. A key part of my role will be the recruitment of players and staff.
‘Worcester is a hotbed of rugby with a fantastic core group of supporters.
‘We want to grow that supporter base and give the city, county and region a successful and sustainable Premiership club everyone can be proud of.’
Diamond replacing the 71-year-old Solomons is no surprise, but the departure of former Wales back-row Thomas is given he was only promoted to the head coach role in January last year.
Thomas left the Gallagher Premiership side with immediate effect after just one year in charge
‘Nothing but big love for the players, coaches, support staff and supporters at Worcester,’ Thomas posted on Twitter. ‘This team is ready to take off over the next 12 months.
‘There are some awesome young players coming through and I’ve really enjoyed putting some good foundations in place.’
In a statement confirming the coaching reshuffle, Worcester co-owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham said: ‘Having taken the time to work with Steve in his role as lead rugby consultant, it was the logical decision to offer him the role as director of rugby for the next two seasons.
‘Steve is an experienced and proven director of rugby with the qualities needed to take the club to the next level and achieve our ambitions of competing at the top end of the Premiership.
‘We have invested a great deal into ensuring we have all the right ingredients for the club to reach its full potential.
‘We have unwavering confidence in the strength of the players and the ability of the club to achieve that goal. We will continue to do everything we can to achieve it.
‘Alan has built an excellent platform for Steve to take things to the next level and achieve the full potential this club has to offer.
Worcester director of rugby Alan Solomons is set to retire from his current role in June
‘Alan arrived in a consultancy role four years ago and his recruitment philosophy to develop and invest in a core of home-grown Worcester players and supplement them with X Factor talent has led to the development and retention of an exciting group of young players with more now coming through behind them in the academy.
‘Jonathan has given his all to the club. We appreciate everything he’s done in his time at Warriors both as a player and a coach and we wish him all the very best in his future ventures.’
Worcester sit 12th in the Gallagher Premiership with Diamond now charged with taking them up the table.
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