Worcester Warriors suspended from all competition after exceeding RFU Monday deadline

The Worcester Warriors were banned from all competitions by Rugby Football Union after missing the deadline to show plans were in place to emerge from the financial crisis the club was going through.

Worcester were given until 5pm on Monday to demonstrate to the governing body that they held the necessary insurance, were able to meet payroll and had a “credible plan to move the club forward”.

The Gallagher Premiership club have been saddled with more than £25million in debt, including at least £6million in unpaid taxes, amid growing anger at owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham.

“The Worcester Warriors owners have failed to meet the RFU’s 5 p.m. deadline to demonstrate insurance coverage, the availability of funds to pay monthly payroll and a credible plan to move the club forward,” the RFU said in a statement.

“The RFU has therefore suspended the Worcester Warriors from all competitions including the Gallagher Premiership, Allianz Premier 15s, U18s Academy Cup and Allianz Cup with immediate effect.”

The RFU will now work with Premiership Rugby and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to determine what this will mean for the competitions affected by Worcester’s suspension.

RFU Chief Executive Officer Bill Sweeney thanked everyone involved at the Warriors whose efforts have allowed the club to continue playing in the opening weeks of the 2022/23 Premiership season, but added that the governing body has no choice but to to suspend them from all competitions.

RFU boss Bill Sweeney

“We appreciate that this is incredibly difficult news for fans, staff and players,” Sweeney said. “We would like to thank the staff and players who have worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to ensure the games can continue.

“We met with players and staff last week to explain why this action is necessary and unfortunately we have had to take this action without any assurances to protect everyone’s best interests.

“We hope a buyer can be secured to allow the Worcester Warriors and University of Worcester Warriors to return to professional league rugby. While it is the responsibility of every business owner to manage their individual finances, we will look at the lessons learned from this situation to see what regulations can be put in place to provide more financial transparency to all parties? Rugby is a relatively young professional sport, and it was widely recognized that clubs faced financial challenges even before Covid.

“Successful professional leagues are vital to the well-being of football as a whole. They inspire current and future players, delight fans by showing high skill and exciting nature of our game. That is why it is so important that we continue to work with Premiership Rugby to improve the structure, governance and business model of rugby union in England.

“The RFU will continue to support community rugby in Worcester and is fully committed to providing local academy opportunities for Pathway players.”

News of Worcester’s suspension was followed by Premiership rivals Wasps, who last week submitted a letter of intent to appoint an administrator and tweeted their support for the Warriors.

“Wasps and the whole rugby family stand together with all the players, staff and supporters of Worcester Warriors,” read a post on the Coventry-based club’s Twitter feed.

Rugby director Steve Diamond appeared to deliver a farewell message on Saturday night, the night of their Premiership Round 3 win over Newcastle Falcons at Sixways.

“It was a bit of a ride with the Warriors. I loved every minute. Good night from me,” Diamond said.

He prefaced the message with the hashtag Worcester’s players and staff used during the club’s difficulties “#TOGETHER”.

Diamond had been a stoic figure and a staunch leader during Worcester’s challenges. He joined the club as senior rugby adviser back in November 2021 and in January this year it was announced that he would become director of rugby following the retirement of Alan Solomons at the end of June.

The Warriors were due to play Gloucester in the Premier League on Saturday but that game in Kingsholm has now been scrapped following the announcement of the suspension.

“The club is awaiting further information on whether the game will be canceled or postponed and will update fans as soon as possible thereafter,” Gloucester said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with the players, staff and supporters of the Worcester Warriors after they received the news of their suspension from the league. We hope they return to the Premier League soon.”

Premiership Rugby confirmed the news that Saturday’s game is now not going ahead in a separate announcement and chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor insisted the competition will remain in daily contact with Worcester and the RFU.

“While the RFU’s decision to suspend the Worcester Warriors from all competition will come as no surprise to many, I know this will continue to be a trying time for the club’s players, staff and fans and we will continue to support them there where we may be in this next phase,” said Massie-Taylor.

Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor says the competition will remain in touch with Worcester and the RFU

“This decision also affects other clubs in the league and we are sorry that it has upset Gloucester Rugby and its fans, whose home game will not be played this weekend.

“We will continue to review the situation with the club and the RFU on a daily basis.”

Kvesic: It’s a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride

Worcester forward Matt Kvesic was at Sixways along with some of the club’s supporters awaiting news on Monday and explained it Sky sports news how he and his teammates have coped during this difficult time.

“It was obviously frustrating for the most part, challenging and a bit of an emotional roller coaster,” said Kvesic. “We had good news, then bad news, and then I just worry about what the next week or two is going to be like. I’m just trying to be positive and hopefully we can move forward.

Worcester back row Matt Kvesic speaks to fans outside Sixways Stadium

“I think we’ve shown over the last few weeks that we were in that right headspace and it was good to get a win [at home to Newcastle] on the weekend.”

The 30-year-old back row admitted players have come to terms with having their salaries pushed back for September, as has been the case for the past few months, and have been making their own preparations to mitigate the impact.

“I’ll be honest, I think this is the fourth or fifth straight month that we’ve had late payments anyway, so we’re kind of prepared for that,” Kvesic said.

“Most guys have dealt with that and are adapting…so hopefully we’ll get paid at some point. It’s all up in the air, but it’s things that are out of our control.”

Jones: I feel for everyone involved in Worcester

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England head coach Eddie Jones says he is worried about the future of Worcester and Wasps and sympathizes with both the players and the fans

Worcester’s plight has also drawn sympathy from England head coach Eddie Jones. The news came the same day he announced a 36-man training squad ahead of the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.

Jones tells Sky Sports He understood the difficulties faced by all those involved in the club.

“I feel especially for the Worcester players, the staff and their fans,” Jones said. “Whenever you have this uncertainty about your future and it sounds like some of the staff aren’t being paid, it’s a difficult time and you want to reach out to those people and help them.

“Whether Wasps will find themselves in that situation we’re not sure, but it’s a time when the competition needs to look after themselves and I’m sure they will.”