Worcester Warriors: ‘The ship has sunk’
WRFC Players Ltd, the company which holds the contracts for Worcester Warriors’ players, has now been liquidated following a £6m unpaid tax bill.
A high court judge took 22 seconds to instruct that the company, which also holds staff contracts, should be wound up, resulting in contracts being immediately terminated.
Ted Hill, Ollie Lawrence, Fergus Lee-Warner and Valeriy Morozov have now gone out on loan to Bath, with more players expected to depart the club.
An emotional director of rugby Steve Diamond took to twitter to say:
“This is the darkest day for English rugby. We thought we could turn the tanker around but it’s ended up like the Titanic, sadly.
“The ship has sunk, the captains are nowhere to be seen. The RFU/PRL band played in the back ground. There are a privileged few who have jobs.”
The winding up petition for WRFC Trading Ltd has been suspended for now following it entering into administration. It’s administrators Begbies Traynor are speaking to two consortiums regarding a takeover, but as players depart the squad and staff will need to be rebuilt.
The club now waits to hear whether it will be permanantely suspended from the Premiership or whether it can still participate next season.
Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, said in a statement: “This is a very sad day for rugby in England. Our thoughts are with all of the Worcester Warriors players, staff and supporters. The RFU will continue to speak to the administrators, and potential buyers, during the course of the next 24 hours to understand the possibility of a buyer taking over the club in time for the men’s team to participate in the Gallagher Premiership during season 2022-23.
“We are also liaising with the administrators in relation to discussions with potential funders, which may enable the University of Worcester Warriors women’s team to continue in the Allianz Premier 15s even if the men’s team cannot continue to participate this season. The RFU will continue to support community rugby in Worcester and is fully committed to ensuring local academy opportunities are provided for pathway players.”
