Saracens' Tizard faces Diamond's wrath for season-ending 'cheap shot'

Newcastle Falcons boss Steve Diamond has branded the illegal clear out that earned Saracens lock Hugh Tizard a red card and left Falcons centre Sammy Arnold facing a long lay off as a cheap shot delivered by an “irate youth”.

Arnold has suffered a medial ligament tear and Diamond is facing up to six months without the hard running centre who has made a big impact in the Falcons midfield as they have ended a debilitating run of Gallagher Premiership losses with successive wins over Exeter Chiefs and Saracens.

Tizard took out Arnold on the side of a ruck in the 80th minute and was sent off with the Falcons player receiving a yellow card for head contact earlier in the ruck. Diamond, who is preparing his side to travel to Pau for their opening European Challenge Cup match, is now denied one of the rocks of his improved defence and he is not happy.

Diamond said: “Sam is looking like it’s a medial ligament tear and it was completely unwarranted and reckless and it will be five or six months out. The game is hard enough without doing things like that and that kind of incident needs to be looked at. You had a young lad there (Tizard) who was frustrated, they were losing the game and in the 80th minute he has seen an easy target and effectively smashed his knee. Not good.

“I am not going to go too overboard on the lad who did it and the disciplinary people will make an example because they are trying to cut those things out of the game. We have lost a very good player in the last minute because of an irate youth who has come off his feet and it looks dreadful on the video.

“Those injuries happened in my day and we have taken them out of the game – injuring the opposition. It is a cheap shot and if you are coming like that – everything was wrong. In at the side, targeting the knee.

“A medial ligament is the lesser of two ligament evils and while we have a slush fund if we want to go out and buy cover, we have players who can play centre in the squad. There isn’t anyone with Sam’s skill set out there at the minute.

Utility back Ethan Grayson is being scanned for a leg injury suffered in the Saracens match while Pumas lock Pedro Rubiolo is out for three months due to a serious foot injury suffered in training before last Friday’s victory.

Diamond also confirmed that England hooker Jamie Blamire signed for Leicester Tigers two weeks ago and will leave at the end of the season along with Rubiolo who is heading to Bristol.