Danny Cipriani should go on England"s tour of New Zealand, says Sale director ...

Cipriani has one more year left on his contract and Diamond disclosed that he

intends to offer the 26-year-old an extension.

Sale have prospered in the past 15 months after what Diamond admits was “a

disastrous start” to the 2012-13 season. They lost their first seven

Premiership matches and were six points adrift at Christmas.

There was a short-lived flirtation with former Sale and England coach John

Mitchell, which Diamond concedes was “a bit hasty and a bit of a let-down”,

managerial confusion over the role of director of rugby Bryan Redpath,

before Diamond himself stripped off his chief executive’s suit and donned

the coach’s tracksuit.

“It was time to go back to basics,” said Diamond, who pinpoints the signing of

New Zealand flanker Dan Braid that January as crucial. “We got our house in

order. Leadership is so important, on and off the field. Dan has been a cut

above anything we have had here. The other senior guys, such as Mark Cueto,

Sam Tuitupou and Dave Seymour, have got the best from others.

“Of course, other things have been in our favour. We have had no international

call-ups and the Amlin does not stress your squad as much as the Heineken.

We have made the most of things. We’ve got a big few weeks ahead now to

deliver on promise shown. Five games, a couple of wins, maybe three, and we

should get what we are after.”

Sale are two points ahead of Harlequins in the last guaranteed Heineken Cup

slot for next season and have an appetising Amlin Cup quarter-final against

Northampton at Salford next Thursday.

Diamond revealed that Sale would definitely stay at the Salford City stadium

despite recent wranglings and that Braid would be offered the chance to move

on to the coaching staff when he finished playing.

Only three players have been signed for next season, Scotland duo Chris

Cusiter and Nathan Hines, and Italy prop Alberto de Marchi.

“We are happy with what we have got,” said Diamond. “This is a good bunch of

blokes.”

Diamond is intent on ensuring that this season’s productivity is no mere blip.

Sale finished sixth in 2012 only to crash horribly. Brian Kennedy, the

club’s owner, has spent 15 years of heartache, and in the region of £20 

million, to keep Sale afloat.

“If we had been relegated that would have been professional rugby wiped off

the map in the North-West of England,” said Diamond.

“It is about time this club repaid Brian in the only way it can, and that is

by performing consistently on the field. We are on a good footing here and

it is up to us now to finish the season in the right way.”

Danny Cipriani should go on England"s tour of New Zealand, says Sale director ...