"You could have said it to my face" - Devon Petersen calls out "cowardly" Josh Rock & Daryl Gurney over World Cup controversy

Devon Petersen has hit out at Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock over comments made following Northern Ireland’s 8-2 win over South Africa at the 2025 World Cup of Darts — calling their behaviour “cowardly” and accusing the pair of lacking class.

Gurney and Rock made headlines in the aftermath of their Frankfurt victory when they joked that Petersen “would be a millionaire if he got paid to talk,” and claimed the South African’s on-stage chatter had been “relentless” and “disrespectful.”

But in a passionate interview with Online Darts, Petersen has broken his silence — and delivered a damning response. “I felt like it was a coward move,” Petersen said. “Because I was stood right in front of you — you could’ve said it to my face.”

Petersen revealed that the atmosphere off-stage was the complete opposite of the tension portrayed in the press room, with Rock and Gurney reportedly joking with him at the hotel after the match and offering encouragement. “We celebrated them on the stage, saw them at the hotel, had jokes with them, said ‘make it your World Cup.’ Josh and Daryl were saying ‘we miss you on tour’ and all of that. Then you get back and see those headlines? Come on.”

While Gurney described Petersen’s vocal style as disruptive, Petersen firmly defended his approach and said it was aimed at supporting his partner, Cameron Carolissen — not unsettling his opponents.“It’s a pairs game. There’s four people on the stage. I told Cameron to listen to my voice so he could settle. I didn’t speak to Daryl or Josh or try to get in their heads. If they were distracted, that’s on them.”

Petersen said Rock carried “confidence — even arrogance — but not in a bad way,” and suggested Gurney’s pre-match team talk might have stoked unnecessary animosity. “Daryl said this is Devon’s game to play, and I think he built Josh up with this kind of aggression. That wasn’t on me.”

There was even a response to the bizarre claim that water had been thrown near Team Northern Ireland’s darts during the match. “To throw water three metres from where I’m stood? If I could throw that well, I’d be in the final, not them.”

Despite admitting he sent Gurney some choice words via text after the match — followed by congratulations — Petersen believes the whole saga was handled poorly, and suggested the Northern Irish duo could have shown more class. “If they said ‘we wanted to win for Northern Ireland’, that would’ve been tasteful. But to say Devon was disrespectful? I didn’t do anything to disrespect you or your game. You did that yourselves.”

Petersen also used the moment to issue a wider call for professionalism, reminding players that their words carry weight in today’s media-driven sporting landscape. “Players need to be reminded — darts is on a global stage now. What you say and do, it goes out to the world. Premeditate it. Because it can hinder your future, and you don’t want that.”