Some Press - Sorry if duplicated (only those Nationals I can Access)

[Neils]

One from Telegraph -

 Wasps' plight should make the game take a long look in the mirror

Rugby has no overriding governance or knowledge of the position that clubs are in – that must change
Sir Ian McGeechan
13 October 2022 • 7:00am
Sir Ian McGeechan


My overriding emotion upon reading the news of Wasps’ impending administration was sadness. It is the club where I enjoyed the most successful period of my career as a coach and it was a club I enjoyed being a part of. During my time there, in High Wycombe, Adams Park was a fantastic place to play rugby – not the biggest, but a fantastic atmosphere.

My immediate thoughts, however, turned to head coach Lee Blackett and his fellow coaches and players. On the playing side, it is easy to forget that, as recently as 2020, Wasps reached the Premiership final.

The saddest thing is that, on the field, the club are in good shape. The new training ground in Henley-in-Arden is superb. Rugby-wise, they had a lot of good things in place, so I feel sorry for the playing group. They must have been mortified when, after training on Wednesday morning, they were told not to return there until further notice – and that Saturday’s match against Exeter was cancelled. That is the real hurt.

My involvement in the club ended in 2009 but my interest did not. I kept in contact with then director of rugby, Dai Young, during the club’s initial financial struggles. In 2007, we took a European game against Munster to the Ricoh Arena and there were more than 20,000 people at the game.


But the pressure came on in High Wycombe after a deal to construct a new stadium in conjunction with the council fell through. After that, although contentious, the move to Coventry felt inevitable, especially with Steve Hayes looking for buyers for the club once the stadium plan collapsed. Dai was working for minimal pay around 2010, and the club narrowly avoided relegation in 2012. Something had to be done.

Dai deserves a lot of credit for keeping the club going because they were in a parlous financial state. If nothing had been done, Wasps would have gone under. Going to Coventry felt like a lifeline.

Wasps had to move to a bigger stadium with a new business plan. When Derek Richardson came in, it did seem like a viable business; there is a conference centre, a hotel and a casino at the Coventry Building Society Arena, which hosts concerts, football and rugby.

The downside was that long-time supporters in London were seriously inconvenienced – they were forced into a 200-mile round-trip. But there was optimism that the vast populations of Coventry and Birmingham could be tapped into. Make no mistake, however, notwithstanding the latest news, Richardson saved the club.

The most important thing for me was that Wasps were able to continue, and he gave them that opportunity. Generally, it is a worrying time for the professional game.


That is the challenge for Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union. The Premiership does not ask its clubs to open their books so there is no overriding governance or knowledge of the position that clubs are in. That must change. The Premiership needs to have a hard think about what it wants to look like.

What are the best structures needed for 10 years, not just three or four? How do England plan best for a national team, with a development pathway for players coming into the professional game?

The sport needs a structured season – with the right number of games so that players’ welfare is looked after – because once that happens you are looking at smaller squads and, therefore, less expenditure.

Should it be a 10-club Premiership? Should it be 14 or 16 teams in two conferences with play-offs?

Either way, the number of games would be managed so that it is realistic with regard to player welfare. Should there be a joint venture between the RFU and the Premiership, where the two merge and then could govern the clubs and their accounts?

We were talking about that in 1990s; I was on a joint board between the RFU and the clubs at the time. Things have changed a lot, but a joint venture was mentioned. It would make far more business and rugby sense. These are the questions that will mould what the elite game looks like, but they require serious thought in the boardrooms of English rugby at a time of severe concern.

[Neils]

Another from Telegraph -

A historic club and a predictable end: The story of Wasps’ sad demise

One of English rugby's most storied clubs are now staring financial oblivion square in the face
By Ben Coles, Rugby Reporter 12 October 2022 • 7:04pm


It was meant to be the start of a bold, prosperous new era. Wasps hosted a crowd of 28,000 for their inaugural fixture in Coventry against London Irish back in December 2014, having two years earlier been narrowly saved from an HMRC winding-up petition when they owed around £2m.

In a bizarre case of history repeating itself, Wasps now once again face administration due to a winding-up petition from HMRC, once more owing around £2m. The main difference between now and 2012 is that instead of only owing HMRC, an unpaid £35m bond due to be repaid to investors who helped the club to become owners of the now 32,000-capacity Coventry Building Society Arena back in 2015 is currently hanging around the club's neck like a millstone.

For so long Wasps RFC were one of English rugby's juggernauts. Founded in 1866 as Hampstead Football Club before changing their name the following year, Wasps became the inaugural English champions of the professional era in 1997.

Renamed to London Wasps in 1999, a move from QPR's Loftus Road ground to High Wycombe sparked a remarkable period of dominance between 2002 and 2008, where they won four Premiership titles in six seasons along with two Heineken Cups, the Challenge Cup and Powergen Cup.

But as that success dried up, coinciding with the sale of the club by Chris Wright to Steve Hayes, so Wasps' struggles began. By 2011, Hayes wanted to sell, after failing to secure backing for a new stadium at Wycombe Air Park.

A dip in ticket sales at Adams Park combined with the club paying rent on both on that ground and their Acton training base, left Wasps with annual losses of around £3m. The stories of Dai Young, the club's then director of rugby, dipping into his own pockets to pay for medical tape have become the stuff of legend.

In September 2012 it took a consortium led by Ken Moss, the former Wasps player, to just about keep Wasps alive by paying off the £2m owed to HMRC when Wasps were mere minutes away from being wound up.

Even when that consortium then sold the club to Derek Richardson, a London-based Irish businessman who made his money in insurance, the following year Wasps remained in search of a long-term solution despite Richardson taking on the club's debts to the tune of £10m. Adams Park was an unsustainable home ground, given Wasps were only making 15p from every pound spent by supporters.

Coventry was viewed as the big solution, the chance for the club to retain all of their matchday revenue while also benefiting from the on-site hotel and casino, plus rent at the time from Coventry City FC.

Backed by Richardson, Wasps secured a deal worth £20m for a 250-year lease and 100 per cent of the stadium operating company in November 2014. Sums of £2.77m each were paid to the previous owners, Coventry City Council and the Alan Edward Higgs Charity, with Wasps also taking on an existing £14.4m loan to the stadium from the council plus a £1m downpayment.

Wasps supporters understandably objected to the move, with over 2,000 signing a petition expressing their outrage at the club moving away from the M25 and dropping the 'London' from their name as a result. Those complaints were addressed at the time by the Wasps captain James Haskell.


“I fully understand the unhappiness but once people are informed they’ll realise this is the only option, other than to cut the squad and get relegated,” Haskell said. “I’ve read the comments, I know some supporters would be happy with that if it meant staying around the capital but that’s madness, you just discount that. After all, some people find it easy to be negative on social media. We have fans following us all round the country because Wasps is a unique club. Anyway, I’m a bit sceptical about this whole ‘London’ thing, we haven’t played there for 12 years now.”

Quotes at the time from Young and Nick Eastwood, the club's chief executive, have aged painfully.

“Do you want your club to be around in 20-50 years time, or carry on as they are and probably go out of business in a year’s time?” Young said in 2014. Regarding how the move would generate additional revenue to sign top players, he added: "From my point of view, it means shopping at Marks & Spencer’s instead of Lidl."

How financially robust were Wasps expecting to be?  “We anticipate having the highest turnover of all clubs in the Aviva Premiership. In Europe, only Toulouse will have bigger," Eastwood declared.

Future signings would include George Smith, Charles Piutau, Danny Cipriani and Kurtley Beale. Accounts up to June 2015 showed turnover rising from £6.5m in 2014 to £21.4m, a period which included the relocation from High Wycombe to Coventry. So flush were Wasps that they actually breached the 2016-17 salary cap limit by just over £40,000, paying a £20,000 fine as a result.

Wasps repaid the previously mentioned loan to the stadium from the council after six months, through the launch of their bond scheme. Bondholders invested at least £2,000 each in April 2015, raising £35m, with the bond offering a fixed gross interest of 6.5 per cent a year until 2022, paid semi-annually.


How therefore did Wasps go from such a positive financial outlook on arriving in Coventry to the brink of administration?

 A rare profit of £3.6m in June 2019 stemmed from CVC Capital's investment in Premiership Rugby, with Wasps receiving £12.5m combined with an increase in the valuation of Wasps' shareholding in the league.

Otherwise the club have continuously made losses - £3.8m in 2017, £9.7m in 2018, £11.1m in 2020 and £7.4m in 2021, with average attendances also falling well below five figures in the wake of the pandemic. The lauded revenue streams after Wasps' move to Coventry - the hotel, casino, exhibition space and hosting concerts including Bruce Springsteen and Rihanna - were not enough to counter the club's losses.

Bondholders should have been repaid in May, with one investor telling The Telegraph back in July: “I was absolutely furious that Wasps waited until the bond’s maturity date to say they could not give us back our money. It is totally inexcusable for [the issuer of] a seven-year bond to wait until its last day of trading.”

Further signs that the club's finances were struggling were evident in June, when Wasps asked for around £13m of public money from The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

The club also moved to a new training ground in Henley-in-Arden in 2021, where players and staff were informed in a meeting on Wednesday that the club were to "enter into administration in the coming days with a view to concluding deals shortly thereafter", as explained by a spokesperson for Wasps Holdings Limited.

Administration appears likely, raising the prospect of relegation along with Worcester, with the retention Wasps' lucrative ‘P share’, worth in excess of £9m, viewed as essential by any prospective buyers. With the debts to HMRC and bondholders, any investment made into the club will need to be sizable. A decade on from sitting on the brink of being wound up, Wasps find themselves again deep in financial strife.

[Neils]

Older Telegraph -



Wasps to enter administration and face relegation

Match against Exeter this weekend has been called off but club are still seeking new owners
By Charles Richardson, Rugby Reporter and Ben Rumsby 12 October 2022 • 1:50pm
Jack Willis of Wasps is applauded off the pitch after their defeat during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Wasps and Northampton Saints
Wasps lost narrowly to Northampton Saints on Sunday - the match may be their last in the Premiership for some time Credit: David Rogers/Getty Images

Wasps are likely to be relegated from the Premiership after announcing they would go into administration “in the coming days”.

When they called off Saturday’s match against Exeter Chiefs on Wednesday, the Rugby Football Union suspended the debt-ridden club from the top flight. It is understood, however, that relegation will not be confirmed until Wasps go into administration.

Wasps confirmed the news days before a deadline for them to enter administration, after twice filing notice of their intention to do so. The club said they had run out of money to continue normal operations.

After players turned up on Wednesday to prepare for the Exeter game, there were told not to return to the training ground until further notice.

Writing for Telegraph Sport in an article to be published on Thursday morning, former director of rugby Sir Ian McGeechan said that his overriding emotion was one of sadness: “It is the club where I enjoyed the most successful period of my career as a coach, and it was a club I enjoyed being a part of. During my time there, in High Wycombe, Adams Park was a fantastic place to play rugby – not the biggest, but a fantastic atmosphere.”

For months, Wasps have struggled with debts to HMRC as well as bondholders, who are owed £35 million after investing in a scheme set up shortly after the club bought the Coventry Building Society Arena in 2014.

Wasps would become the second Premiership side to enter administration in a matter of weeks, following Worcester, who were thrown out of the top flight last week following their failure to find a buyer before a deadline imposed by the RFU.

Wasps are now in their own race to conclude a deal to sell the club and avoid the same fate, although they would still face relegation simply by entering administration.

A spokesperson for Wasps Holdings Ltd said: “Since filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators on Sept 21, we have been working tirelessly to secure the long-term future for Wasps Holdings Ltd, and all of the organisations and clubs that sit within the group.

“Negotiations to secure deals that will allow the men’s and women’s rugby teams, netball team and the arena and associated business to move forward are ongoing.

“However, it has become clear that there is likely to be insufficient time to find a solvent solution for the companies within the group, and it is therefore likely that they will enter into administration in the coming days with a view to concluding deals shortly thereafter While the companies within the group all represent strong and viable businesses, represent strong and viable businesses, the reality is that they have insufficient cash at this time to continue to fund operations until these complex negotiations have concluded.

“We have therefore been asking potential funders and investors to provide bridging finance to provide enough time for a solvent solution to be found. Regrettably, this has not been possible to date.

“In light of the current situation, we have therefore taken the decision to withdraw the Wasps men’s team from this Saturday’s league fixture against Exeter Chiefs. This was an extremely difficult decision to make and we recognise that this will not only impact on our players, staff and supporters, but also Exeter Chiefs and the wider rugby community.

“However, we strongly believe it is the right course of action when, at this time, we are unable to meet our regulatory requirements in the absence of fully concluded deal negotiations.

“We understand that this news will be disappointing and concerning for everyone involved. Our immediate focus will be on ensuring that all of our players and the staff of Wasps and the arena are fully updated and given the support they need.

“While these are challenging times, we remain confident that new owners will be found that will allow the clubs and businesses within the group to move forward.”

An RFU spokesperson said: “The RFU’s club financial viability group met this evening and confirmed that Wasps are suspended from the Gallagher Premiership.

“We appreciate this is a very difficult time for Wasps players, staff and supporters who will be concerned at the news that the club is likely to enter administration. The RFU will continue to work with the club, PRL and any potential administrator or future investors to find the best possible outcome for the club.”

The club’s former director of rugby, Dai Young, told Telegraph Sport that he was “keeping his fingers crossed” for a positive outcome. “It would be devastating if they went into administration and got relegated – or even worse, went out of existence,” he said.

“I’m obviously emotionally attached to the club having been there so long, but it would be a huge loss to English rugby because of the history and tradition they have brought to the game. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that someone will ride in on a big white horse and save the day.”

Among the front runners to rescue Wasps is a consortium fronted by David Armstrong, their former chief executive, which includes investment firm, Terminum Capital and advisors, Oakwell Sport.

Mike Ashley, the former Newcastle United owner, is understood no longer to be in the running.

Telegraph Sport revealed on Monday how Armstrong’s consortium would accept Wasps’ relegation in the event of administration, as long as the stricken club canretain the lucrative ‘P share’.

The shares, owned by each of the 13 Premiership clubs, entitle them to annual payouts from central funding. With the news of Wasps’ impending administration, Premiership clubs would have to decide whether the West Midlands club would be able to retain theirs.

The share is seen as a vital asset by Armstrong’s consortium, whose bid incorporates both the rugby club and the Coventry Building Society Arena, keeping them as one entity.

The desire of the Premiership clubs is unknown but the expectation, with several of them also in debt to HMRC, is that they would vote against allowing Wasps to retain their P share, which is worth in excess of £9 million.

[Neils]

Telegraph Q & A from last night -


Wasps can still avoid Premiership relegation and what happens next

Wasps may yet avoid the drop and, based on historical precedent, have cause for optimism
By Charles Richardson, Rugby Reporter 12 October 2022 • 6:03pm
How Wasps can yet avoid Premiership relegation and what happens next
All is not lost for Wasps, despite going into administration on Tuesday Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Wasps are on the brink after announcing they would be plunged into administration within days, but all is not lost for the six-time champions. Here Telegraph Sport assesses the ongoing situation.

Will Wasps be relegated?

If we follow the precedent set in the case of Worcester Warriors, then the answer would be yes. However, there is hope among some  of the front-runners for a takeover that the Rugby Football Union's “no-fault insolvency” clause could be invoked.

The RFU's “no-fault insolvency” clause states: “[The RFU] in its absolute discretion may reduce or waive in its entirety any sanction... where it is satisfied that the insolvency event would not have occurred but for... any epidemic or pandemic as categorised as such by the UK Government and/or the World Health Organisation”.

The club proving a “no-fault insolvency” is not a far-fetched conclusion considering how brutally the revenues of Premiership clubs were ravaged during the Covid pandemic. However, the £35 million of bonds were taken out in 2014, just after the move to the Coventry Building Society (then Ricoh) Arena, well before Covid even existed.
Can they still play matches?

We do not know for certain, but there is slightly more optimism for Wasps based on historical precedent.

Richmond went into voluntary administration in March of the 1998/99 season and yet still fulfilled their fixtures until the season's conclusion in May – including a mammoth 106-12 win over Bedford Blues.

What happens to their players?

If, like Richmond in 1999, Wasps were allowed to continue playing in this Premiership season, then the expectation would be that all of their players would still be able to represent the side, with a view to moving on at the end of this campaign if the club were relegated to the Championship at the end of the season.

However, like with Worcester, if Wasps' players were not paid their October salaries – due at the end of the month – then that would make things trickier. It is understood that players and coaches received their September salaries in full, but if that was not the case this month then they could serve two weeks notice to the club due to breach of contract, followed by a notice of
two weeks to execute. So, 28 days from no payment to departure.

Will they be liquidated like Worcester?


This is unlikely, but not impossible. For that to happen, Wasps Holdings Limited would need to receive a winding-up petition from HMRC, which would then need to be made into an order further down the line – which would liquidate the company. However, that process takes time and no such petition has yet been issued by HMRC.

Furthermore, HMRC can consider delaying such a situation if the club's administrators can convince it that there is a credible plan for a takeover. So that HMRC can fully recoup their funds, it is, of course, in their interests to give Wasps as much time as possible for a takeover. Liquidation would hit the pockets of the taxpayer.

What about the women's and netball teams?

Wednesday's statement from Wasps Holdings Limited read: “Negotiations to secure deals that will allow the Men’s and Women’s rugby teams, netball team and the arena and associated business to move forward are ongoing. However, it has become clear that there is likely to be insufficient time to find a solvent solution for the companies within the group, and it is therefore likely that they will enter into administration in the coming days with a view to concluding deals shortly thereafter.”

Wasps women's team are due to play Bristol in the Allianz Premier 15s Cup competition a week on Saturday. That fixture would seemingly be in doubt but is still, as things stand, going ahead. Thankfully, the Allianz Premier 15s does not start until November, with the league on a delayed start due to the women's World Cup in New Zealand. Hopefully, by then, a solution will have been found, similarly for the netball team, whose season starts in February.

[Neils]

The Mail this Morning (lot of clutter in article) -

Rugby's Premiership is in CRISIS with a very real possibility that it could lose two teams despite the new season having just started... and close to HALF of the original 13 clubs are up for sale as the league battles huge financial problems

    Wasps are set to be relegated from the Premiership amid their financial woes
    The Coventry-based side have confirmed their plans to enter administration
    They are poised to join Worcester in dropping out of English rugby's top flight
    The Premiership is in crisis, with a number of teams battling financial problems

By Alex Bywater For The Daily Mail

Published: 22:30, 12 October 2022 | Updated: 23:25, 12 October 2022


Only eight days ago, Steve Diamond lamented English rugby’s ‘darkest day’ after his Worcester side went into administration and were suspended, then relegated from the Premiership.

Now there is a new nadir after it was revealed on Wednesday that Wasps — who are battling debts of close to £100million — are ready to follow the same disastrous path as the stricken Warriors.

Wasps’ announcement that they intend to go into administration in the coming days was further evidence — as if it were needed — that English rugby’s top tier is a league built on sand.

The Premiership is in crisis and there is now a very real possibility that it could lose two teams despite the new season being barely under way.

Sportsmail understands that close to half the 13 sides which started the campaign are for sale as the league battles huge financial problems. The outlook is bleak.

The RFU last night confirmed that Wasps had been suspended from the Premiership. Relegation will almost certainly be the next step, as it was for Worcester, when administration becomes official.

It is understood the Wasps squad are resigned to that fate. Job losses and a repeat of the player exodus that has taken place at Worcester now seem inevitable. A team who have been crowned champions of England six times and conquered Europe twice look doomed.
Wasps are set to be relegated from the Premiership as they prepare to enter administration

Wasps are set to be relegated from the Premiership as they prepare to enter administration
Steve Diamond only recently branded Worcester's administration rugby's 'darkest day'

Steve Diamond only recently branded Worcester's administration rugby's 'darkest day'
Now Wasps have followed Worcester after confirming their plans to enter administration

Now Wasps have followed Worcester after confirming their plans to enter administration



A state of chaos reigns in the English game right now and no one seems capable of turning the tide. Premiership Rugby again stayed silent yesterday as their prize product burned.

‘Negotiations to secure deals that will allow the men’s and women’s rugby teams, netball team and the arena and associated business to move forward are ongoing,’ Wasps said in a statement.

‘However, it has become clear there is likely to be insufficient time to find a solvent solution for the companies within the group.

‘It is therefore likely they will enter into administration in the coming days.’

Whereas Worcester’s misery was inflicted by the actions of disgraced owners Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring and exacerbated by the devastating impact of Covid, Wasps’ troubles are long-standing and of the club’s own making.

Regardless, the end result for both teams is that they are on the verge of being put out of business.
The Coventry-based club released a statement on Wednesday confirming the administration

The Coventry-based club released a statement on Wednesday confirming the administration

Wasps face a winding-up order from HM Revenue and Customs for an unpaid tax bill of £2m, but their financial problems stem from a £35m bond taken out to secure ownership of their Coventry Building Society Arena home in 2014 after their controversial relocation from High Wycombe to the Midlands.




Players and staff from Worcester and Wasps last night made a plea for the Premiership not to take away their lucrative financial stake in the league. Doing so would virtually end hopes of either team ever making it back to the top division.

On September 21, Wasps notified the High Court of their intention to appoint an administrator with the club struggling to repay their stadium bond and their tax bill.

A second notification to appoint an administrator was filed on October 4. It was a means of keeping the wolf from the door, but it worked only briefly. Wasps could not outrun the beast.

The club are still hoping for an 11th hour reprieve and the arrival of fresh investment, but entering administration will come at a significant cost.

Despite the pleas of former England No 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, who is now a Wasps director, they are unlikely to be treated any differently from Worcester.
That is despite the pleas of former England No 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, who is a Wasps director

That is despite the pleas of former England No 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, who is a Wasps director
Players and staff were told of Wasps' financial plight at an emergency meeting on Wednesday

Players and staff were told of Wasps' financial plight at an emergency meeting on Wednesday

Wasps confirmed on Wednesday they had made the ‘extremely difficult decision’ to pull out of Saturday’s scheduled Premiership clash with Exeter, who will now play Bristol in a friendly.

Wasps head coach Lee Blackett also cancelled his weekly pre-match media session.

Worcester’s administrators have confirmed they will appeal against relegation on the grounds of no-fault insolvency.

At this stage it remains unclear whether Wasps will be able to do likewise.

Their situation also raises huge concerns for Championship football side Coventry City, who, like Wasps, play their home games at the CBS Arena.

The Wasps statement continued: ‘While the companies within the group all represent strong and viable businesses, the reality is that they have insufficient cash at this time to continue to fund operations until these complex negotiations have concluded.’

Bristol scrum-half Harry Randall will miss England’s autumn internationals after having hamstring surgery, but Mako Vunipola will be available.

Saracens prop Vunipola has only been handed a three-match ban — which could be reduced to two — for his red card against Newcastle.

[Neils]

Links to other Mail Articles - too much crap/clutter to remove -

Suspension -

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-11307487/Wasps-set-enter-administration-face-suspension-Gallagher-Premiership.html

Beer -

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-11304315/Wasps-beer-partner-Heineken-removed-lager-stadium-weekend-fears-unpaid.html

[Neils]

Guardian take -

Demise of Wasps leaves English club rugby in dire need of major overhaul
Gerard Meagher

Premiership has been living beyond its means for some time. Perhaps the loss of two clubs will bring some financial sense at last
The Coventry Building Society Arena, home of Wasps
The suspension of Wasps, not long after Worcester collapsed, means an 11-team Premiership. Photograph: David Davies/PA
Wed 12 Oct 2022 20.35 BST
Last modified on Thu 13 Oct 2022 05.16 BST

It is less than a month since the Premiership Rugby Limited chief executive, Simon Massie-Taylor, spoke of the doomsday scenario that loomed over club rugby given the widespread financial turmoil. Wasps’ suspension on Wednesday after the admission they are likely to go into administration brings PRL face-to-face with that very scenario and the prospect of finishing the league with 11 teams. What’s worse is that come May there could even be fewer.

Rewind the clock further and it was seven years ago Wasps were being proclaimed as the richest club in the world after the bond scheme that has played such a big part in their undoing. Precisely how they now find themselves set to follow in the path of Worcester will be determined by the independent inquiry, which must surely be set up to examine the failings of domestic club rugby in England. That does not make the blow any more palatable, however, for one of the country’s most successful clubs.
Wasps are struggling to repay the £35m bond that was raised to help finance their relocation to Coventry in 2014 that was due in May.
Wasps suspended from Premiership and set to enter administration ‘within days’


In those seven years they have not lifted the Premiership – though they have reached two finals – but they boast six titles and two European Cups. For all that Lawrence Dallaglio caused upset on Sunday, when he appeared to suggest his former club should treated differently from the Warriors, he was speaking, as he played throughout his Wasps career during their heyday, with heart on sleeve.

There have been some good times in the West Midlands with Charles Piutau, Danny Cipriani and Kurtley Beale lighting up the place, but it is a move that has not worked out. As Wednesday’s announcement confirmed, in the coming days it seems they will be sent to Coventry for a second time. The most depressing aspect is there are no guarantees they will be the last club to fail. Should that be the case it can be said without question that the entire edifice is crumbling.

Major overhaul must therefore come because those in charge of the domestic game can not afford to let the status quo continue. Directors of rugby are becoming increasingly emboldened in calling for change – a surefire sign it is on the horizon. On Wednesday Rob Baxter and Pat Lam made plain their views and, if they were doing so before news of Wasps’ plight was announced, with Exeter now hosting Bristol in a friendly on Saturday suggests they had a pretty good idea.


The hope is that the penny has finally dropped for the Premiership club owners. The impact of the Covid pandemic is unmistakable on a league that relies so heavily on gate receipts but no sport was afforded better financial support from the government, to the tune of more than £100m. It is only four years since the private equity firm CVC pumped £200m into the league in exchange for a 27% stake but still the Premiership is swimming in debt.

So much so that investors see no value in putting money into clubs until they have been put into administration. It is not long before sponsors will follow in realising that an association with the Premiership is no longer worthwhile and if broadcasters have been sympathetic in the early weeks of the season it would be no surprise to see them calling for a return to the negotiating table.

Radical options would include summoning a Championship team or two for the remainder of the season, though that is unlikely. More foreseeable is a move to a 10-team top tier – backed by Baxter on Wednesday – with a robust league below it, also of 10 professional teams. That could include teams from Wales but, more important, it would have independent governance by Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union, rather than the current self-rule system where the clubs attempt to govern themselves.

Massie-Taylor is a significant upgrade on his predecessor, Darren Childs, as the Premiership’s chief executive, but that he had to call publicly for even the power to be granted a look at the clubs’ finances demonstrates how he operates with both hands tied behind his back.





As for the players at Wasps, there is a degree of resignation that their futures lie elsewhere. As much as it is difficult to imagine Joe Launchbury playing his club rugby away from Wasps, agents have spent the past few days touting around members of the squad. It will affect Worcester players, too, because it becomes all the more a buyer’s market.

It may sound heartless but eventually one of the root causes of so many of club rugby’s problems will begin to be addressed. In short, the players are paid too much. They have every right to take what they can get – it is a short career and the punishment their bodies take is remarkable – but wages are too expensive across the board.

Fewer matches may make smaller salaries more palatable and, as evidenced by Sam Simmonds moving to France next season and reports that Jack Nowell and Joe Marchant to name but two may follow, there are more lucrative pay packets on offer abroad. In that sense, next season coming immediately after a World Cup cycle provides the PRL and RFU with the perfect opportunity to implement an overhaul. It is one they can not afford to waste.

[Neils]

Guardian last night -

Wasps suspended from Premiership and set to enter administration ‘within days’

    Financially stricken club had cancelled match with Exeter
    Wasps will befall same fate as Worcester and be relegated


Gerard Meagher
Wed 12 Oct 2022 20.12 BST


The Premiership has been plunged deeper into crisis with Wasps suspended and moving to the brink of relegation after revealing they are set to go into administration. The move comes less than a week after Worcester’s fate was sealed, leaving the league two clubs down barely a month into the season.

Wasps’ match against Exeter on Saturday has been cancelled, in effect because they had run out of money to operate, and, as was the case with Worcester, they have been suspended from the Premiership. As per Rugby Football Union, relegation is expected to be confirmed when administration materialises “in the coming days” for one of England’s most storied clubs.

It is understood Wasps players and staff were informed of the club’s imminent fate at a meeting at their training base at lunchtime on Wednesday with no guarantees over whether they would be paid October’s wages. If the company that holds their contracts enters administration it is expected that players could terminate their contracts immediately. If not, they can give 14 days’ notice once payday has come and gone.

It leaves Premiership Rugby in the desperate position of trying to complete the season with 11 teams. Furthermore, it is believed senior figures harbour concerns over another club’s financial outlook. PRL did not intend to redraw its fixture list despite Worcester’s departure from the league but that stance will surely change now and equally pressing will be remodelling the domestic structure.

Wasps had bought themselves time to find fresh investment by twice filing notice of intention to appoint administrators but while they have a handful of interested parties – including the former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley – none appears either able or willing to conclude a deal before Monday’s deadline. Wasps owe £2m to HMRC and £35m to bondholders as part of the scheme that financed their move to Coventry, were the recipients of a government pandemic bailout and are in debt to the tune of nearly £20m to the owner, Derek Richardson.

RFU regulations dictate that Wasps will be relegated to the Championship for next season when administration is confirmed, with a senior source confirming that they will be treated in the same way as Worcester despite Lawrence Dallaglio’s plea on Sunday. Like Worcester they will be able to appeal against the decision and attempt to prove a “no-fault insolvency” while Wasps’ suspension will be lifted “if they are able to demonstrate the means and commitment to pay rugby creditors”.

A statement from Wasps Holdings Limited read: “It has become clear that there is likely to be insufficient time to find a solvent solution … and it is therefore likely that they will enter into administration in the coming days with a view to concluding deals shortly thereafter … We have been asking potential funders and investors to provide bridging finance to provide enough time for a solvent solution to be found. Regrettably, this has not been possible to date, although we will continue to pursue this until the very last opportunity.”





Wasps remain confident of securing investment after administration, though some suitors are interested in the stadium, complete with casino and hotel, but not the club. Any sale is also likely to be protracted – not least with the RFU under pressure to carry out due diligence. If Wasps are allowed to hold on to their P share, which guarantees central funding, they would be a more attractive proposition for investors but it is understood there is feeling within the league that is unlikely.

“In light of the current situation, we have therefore taken the decision to withdraw the Wasps men’s team from this Saturday’s league fixture against Exeter Chiefs,” continued the statement from Wasps. “This was an extremely difficult decision … however, we strongly believe it is the right course of action when, at this time, we are unable to meet our regulatory requirements in the absence of fully concluded deal negotiations.

“We understand that this news will be disappointing and concerning for everyone involved. Our immediate focus will be on ensuring that all of our players and the staff of Wasps and the arena are fully updated and given the support they need. While these are challenging times, we remain confident that new owners will be found that will allow the clubs and businesses within the group to move forward.”

[Shugs]

Thanks for posting Neils. In amongst all of that Ruck (?!) are reporting Launchbury to Quins and. J Willis to Irish.

[Neils]

Anything in The Times is behind a Paywall.

It is not worth clicking the comments on these papers because there is a high element of vitriol with a high percentage from "fans" of teams found or suspected of cheating to a high level.

[Neils]

Neil Fissler
@neilfissler

The Premiership is falling apart at the seams. Two clubs have gone but, two more in deep trouble but the best owner of the lot a true rugby man was driven out by a witch-hunt.




Two more - allegedly a far North East club and a SW Club situated between our friends in Worcestershire and those funded by a Billionnaire His true Rugby man will be the EA main cheat.

[Neils]

Thanks for posting Neils. In amongst all of that Ruck (?!) are reporting Launchbury to Quins and. J Willis to Irish.

No surprises there. BUT the teams must have got salary cap dispensation (which hasn't been announced). I would think/hope those two especially will stick around for a few more days just to be sure.

On a personal level I find myself beginning to trully hate the highest echelons of English Rugby - management, teams and a small selection of fans who really should shut the hell up.

[jamestaylor002]

Thanks for posting Neils. In amongst all of that Ruck (?!) are reporting Launchbury to Quins and. J Willis to Irish.

No surprises there. BUT the teams must have got salary cap dispensation (which hasn't been announced). I would think/hope those two especially will stick around for a few more days just to be sure.

On a personal level I find myself beginning to trully hate the highest echelons of English Rugby - management, teams and a small selection of fans who really should shut the hell up.

I feel the same way as you, Neils.

No doubt the RFU/PRL haven't really thought about the long-term effects of this... All of those Worcester fans, are you really going to be seeing them engage with the Premiership again? I doubt it. I won't speak for all Wasps fans, but I'd seriously doubt whether I'd be inclined to engage with Premiership rugby if there is no Wasps involvement. You simply aren't going to replace the quantity of fans who lose interest in the top flight product - less tickets sold, less need to buy PRTV/BT Sport. Note: I say Premiership because that's where all the focus goes.

[Rossm]

Thanks for posting Neils. In amongst all of that Ruck (?!) are reporting Launchbury to Quins and. J Willis to Irish.

I would be surprised if Jack goes to Irish. There's plenty of rumours that they'll be the next for the drop and sooner rather than later.

[Boosh]

Most of the bad coverage particularly on social media is born out of jealousy of the success we have had and the ground we own. Football fans in particular