Newcastle Red Bulls part company with Diamond

Newcastle Red Bulls person parted institution pinch head of rugby Steve Diamond.

The news comes aft conscionable 1 lucifer of nan caller Prem play which nan renamed Red Bulls lost 39-17 astatine location to Saracens.

As Diamond departs, Neil McIlroy will get connected 1 November successful nan recently created domiciled of sporting wide manager, pinch work for each rugby management.

Alan Dickens will return connected nan domiciled of caput coach, reporting to McIlroy, while Scotland caput coach Gregor Townsend is to go a part-time advisor on strategy and philosophy for nan northbound eastbound club.

Diamond arrived astatine Kingston Park successful January 2024 and led Newcastle done a difficult play pinch nan nine stuck astatine nan bottommost of nan league, managing only 2 wins from 25 convention games.

Previous proprietor Semore Kurdi put nan nine up for waste past November, and it was not until August that world power drinks giants Red Bull completed its takeover.

A full raft of players person arrived successful a short abstraction of time, but this is by acold nan astir important determination taken by nan caller owners.

Diamond, who has antecedently worked successful Prem Rugby pinch Sale Sharks and Worcester Warriors, held nan fort arsenic Newcastle struggled to compete financially pinch nan remainder of nan league.

They operated good nether nan net headdress and saw a drawstring of homegrown players cherry-picked by different Prem clubs.

There were moreover worries that Newcastle would spell nan aforesaid measurement arsenic Worcester, Wasps and London Irish, though Diamond, who had been astatine Sixways erstwhile Worcester went into administration, ever insisted that would not beryllium nan lawsuit astatine Newcastle.

The nine thanked nan 56-year-old for his 'passion, publication and guidance', external, but his departure comes arsenic portion of a wider restructure disconnected nan section astatine Newcastle.

McIlroy will get pinch acquisition from holding akin roles pinch French rugby convention nine Catalans Dragons and Top 14 outfit Clermont Auvergne.

On apical of this, John Fletcher is to subordinate connected 1 December arsenic nan club's caller academy and pathways director, having been caput of pathways pinch Scottish Rugby, while erstwhile Scotland skipper Jonny Petrie is to go managing head from Monday, aft he antecedently held executive roles astatine Edinburgh and Ulster.

Ahead of nan caller play starting, rumours circulated that Newcastle were successful talks pinch Townsend to go their head of rugby.

He signed a new statement pinch Scottish Rugby until nan 2027 Rugby World Cup, but he will now undertake this advisory domiciled pinch Red Bulls.

At nan clip of nan speculation astir his role, Diamond told nan Rugby Union Weekly podcast: "Well there's ever going to beryllium speculation astir my job.

"I've managed to beryllium portion of a process which has sewage astir apt nan champion investor into rugby since it went professional, and they've fixed maine a task for nan adjacent 12 months.

"Anyone that knows maine I don't activity connected immoderate longer contracts than 12 months, I don't person three, four-year contracts. I don't beryllium connected my hands. I'm difficult working, I'm loyal and we'll spot wherever we spell aft this 12 months."