Collapsed Premiership rugby union clubs have relegation confirmed

Wasps and Worcester Warriors rugby clubs have had their appeals against their relegation from the Premiership dismissed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU).

It means that if sales of the clubs are agreed and rugby creditors are paid, they will play the 2023-24 season in the sport’s second tier, the Championship. However the RFU has set a deadline of next week for the deals to be agreed so that it can plan for next season.

Wasps played four Premiership matches and Worcester played three before they collapsed under the weight of financial problems and had their seasons prematurely ended.

The administrators at both clubs had made ‘no fault insolvency’ applications, referencing that the pandemic was the main reason for going into administration.

The RFU’s Club Financial Viability Group has rejected the applications saying that Wasps had shown “insufficient evidence” that there was no fault on the club’s part.

For Worcester Warriors, the report admitted the pandemic had a “substantial financial effect” on the club, but its insolvency was down to the winding-up petition from HMRC, for which the RFU had not been provided with any correspondence between the club and HMRC in relation to this.

The club were suspended from the top division, as Wasps faced a winding-up order from HMRC over around £2m in tax arrears and the repayment of a £35m bond that was used to help fund their relocation from High Wycombe to Coventry in 2014.

Worcester Warriors also were tackling a £6m winding-up tax bill with HMRC and around £25m of debt.