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Wasps are on the brink of finalising a deal to play at Sixways, the former ground of Worcester Warriors, Telegraph Sport understands.
The arrangement would see professional rugby return to Sixways just months after the Warriors were liquidated, with Wasps expected to abandon plans to move to Solihull.
Wasps were relegated from the Premiership following their own liquidation last year. They are now in the process of applying to join the Championship and any move to Sixways would have to meet the Rugby Football Union?s conditions.
And on a dramatic day for the stricken former Premiership clubs, it also was announced that Worcester Warriors would cease to exist, with Sixways Rugby entering National League 2 West after rebranding semi-professional side Stourbridge.
Atlas Worcester Warriors Rugby Club Limited confirmed on Thursday that they had pulled out of the application process to compete in the Championship next season as Worcester Warriors, with director Jim O?Toole stating they ?cannot agree to the RFU?s conditions and commercial restrictions?.
?We will invest in [Stourbridge?s] semi-professional first team and they will play at Sixways,? said O?Toole. ?We will invest significantly to get them through the leagues. The plan will be to reach the Championship by 2026.
?We hope to be able to call upon former players to come in and help us move through the divisions. Some of the older guys who can still mix it in that league, as well as the players who were breaking through from the academy.?
Stourbridge are currently placed bottom in National League 2 West and could, therefore, be relegated into Midlands 1 next season, the fifth tier of English rugby. Should relegation occur, for the club to fulfil O?Toole?s desire of reaching the Championship by 2026, they would have to achieve three back-to-back promotions.
Telegraph Sport has approached the RFU for comment.