The Sunday Times

[Rossco]

Can anyone post todays articles regarding the update from the Championship and the Wasps piece by Stephen Jones please?

[backdoc]

It?s commercial suicide if Championship sides reject Wasps? return
Rival clubs? disgraceful attitude would also keep Worcester Warriors and London Irish out of new Tier 2

Stephen Jones
Sunday April 14 2024, 12.01am, The Sunday Times


Do the clubs of the second-tier Championship have the vision to succeed in a full-blown league; and is rugby?s treasured spirit and sense of harmony now dead and buried?

The questions must be asked as we reveal that representatives of the Championship clubs in discussion with the RFU about reviving the division have told the RFU that they will not countenance the appearance of Wasps in the league ? and, while it is not their brief or right to dictate who the competitors are, they have also rejected the idea that Worcester Warriors or London Irish could take part, if they also return.

It should be said that this is by no means the view of all. One club owner told us on Saturday that he ?wants no part? of excluding the three famous clubs.

The attitude of the others is not only a disgrace, and pathetic, but also commercial suicide. If this is the kind of attitude that Championship clubs are bringing with them, then they really should not bother to enter.

Recently Christopher Holland, the new owner of the new Wasps, reported that he had concluded his takeover of the club, that the old regime had gone and that he and his backers were now confident they could revive the club, and also fulfil their legal commitments to repay their rugby creditors from the collapsed old operation.

Calls from what may be called the usual suspects on social media that Wasps should pay every debt incurred by their former owners ? something that would never be required in business ? are discounted by the RFU.

For me, the Wasps team who won the European Cup after a staggering run of tough matches and a remarkable final at Twickenham against Toulouse remain the best team I have seen in Europe. They would bring a new venue: they have been successful in identifying a site in Swanley, near Sevenoaks.

Holland last week recalled the scenes when the administrator called all the players together to say that the club were ceasing operations: ?I looked at Joe Launchbury, who was clearly in tears, then I noticed the two Willis brothers, Jack and Tom, also in tears and hugging each other. It was a devastating time.? It also typified the enduring spirit of the club.

Consider the advantages for the rest of the Premiership. The journalist Gary Fitzgerald estimates that no fewer than 35 players brought through by Wasps are now out there in the Premiership and elsewhere, playing professional rugby. There are four former Wasps coaches operating in the Premiership.

Yet it is also relevant here to point out that rugby is no longer the sport it once was. In past eras, there would have been great sympathy for stricken clubs, and a communal mourning.

Now, the jealousy aimed at clubs such as Wasps and Saracens by keyboard warriors ? usually supporters of clubs who could never compete with them ? is full of bile and abuse.

Wasps would galvanise any division; their class and the rivalries they would draw, together with the support that they have ? did anyone see the whirlwind of reaction from their fans when the club died? ? would float a good part of the new event by itself.

Conor O?Shea, the RFU executive director of performance rugby, has said there are no plans to exclude Wasps from a revamped second tier, saying: ?As the process for clubs to be part of Tier 2 moves forward, there may be opportunities for other clubs that could include Wasps, London Irish and Worcester Warriors to be considered with eligibility based on sound business and financial plans as well as the meeting of minimum standards and any payment outstanding to rugby creditors. The fan bases and commercial appeal of these clubs will be of value to a sustainable Tier 2.?

[Neils]

Thanks. Interesting article.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

It does make me wonder whether the RFU will simply say, 'Here it is, Premiership 2. If you want to play in it, sign this contract (which gives the RFU the right to invite who we want in to the league). If you don't want to join in, that's up to you. But, we are disbanding the Championship, and any team not taking up this offer, that is currently a Championship team, will be moved in to their local league below that. Now, what do you want to do?'

Interesting to note the rugby creditors comment. A big chunk of that would be the player's wages for the rest of their contracts. Most have now mitigated that, and it is quite possible most have signed a letter to waive their right to claim as 'rugby creditors', but would still retain their rights as creditors. As I recall, the phoenix team for each of the 3 clubs were told that it was their responsibility to identify the rugby creditors, and as the term isn't fully, legally defined ...

[Bloke in North Dorset]

My first thought after reading it was ?why now?? It?s European quarter finals, the Premiership is quite close and coming to a conclusion, there?s lots of stories that could have been written so why this one and why now?

Perhaps NWW has a point and the RFU is telling the Championship clubs to get sh1t or get off the pot. They can?t drag it out indefinitely and it would be quite embarrassing for the RFU if Wasps or the other 2 opted for other leagues.

[baldpaul101]

I think its more likely that the Champ clubs, seeing that the RFU & PRL want the 3 lost clubs back, are trying to use that as a bargaining chip to get a better deal.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

I think its more likely that the Champ clubs ... are trying to use that as a bargaining chip to get a better deal.

And the RFU has said 'No,' already, but the clubs are not backing down, so the RFU is upping the ante. The thing is, the RFU holds all the cards.

[JF]

To me this smacks of "we've got nothing to say, so let's put out a placeholder until such time as there's actually something of substance to say".

The domestic game needs a cold, hard, independent review. Until such time as that happens we're just in putting sticking plasters on the chairs on the Titanic.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

To me this smacks of "we've got nothing to say, so let's put out a placeholder until such time as there's actually something of substance to say".

The domestic game needs a cold, hard, independent review. Until such time as that happens we're just in putting sticking plasters on the chairs on the Titanic.

Yes, but those chairs were wooden and floated. The ones the RFU are patching up are cast iron and will sink without trace.

[Egret]

The article reads like self-entitled tosh. SJ has been poor for a long time now

[Robson9]

The article reads like self-entitled tosh. SJ has been poor for a long time now

Nothing quite beats his article on the london 7s last year though. Wrote an entire article for the ST on how crap the atmosphere was and how poorly attended it was - unfortunately for him he'd had one too many sherries and posted it the day before the actual event took place. And of course (as his way) doubled down massively on twitter when called out on it. Guy is an absolute melon.

[Neils]

The article reads like self-entitled tosh. SJ has been poor for a long time now

Nothing quite beats his article on the london 7s last year though. Wrote an entire article for the ST on how crap the atmosphere was and how poorly attended it was - unfortunately for him he'd had one too many sherries and posted it the day before the actual event took place. And of course (as his way) doubled down massively on twitter when called out on it. Guy is an absolute melon.

BUT still an influential one with them upstairs.

[Bloke in North Dorset]

The article reads like self-entitled tosh. SJ has been poor for a long time now

Nothing quite beats his article on the london 7s last year though. Wrote an entire article for the ST on how crap the atmosphere was and how poorly attended it was - unfortunately for him he'd had one too many sherries and posted it the day before the actual event took place. And of course (as his way) doubled down massively on twitter when called out on it. Guy is an absolute melon.

BUT still an influential one with them upstairs.

Indeed, Neil?s, and that was my point. He didn?t write a random article, he was doing someone a favour.

[westwaleswasp]

He has been doing Sarries a favour for a long, long time. He knows where the bread is buttered, and if it is buttered in our direction then great.

Thing is, even if the RFU win the hand, and they do hold all the cards regarding the championship, they still have to get those in the prem to agree to something that makes it work. In other words, relegation. And not just for Newcastle, for any  bastard at the bottom- Bath, Cheetahs, whoever. Otherwise it still is not in our interests to join.

[Rossco]

News with Chris Jones on Twitter regarding Prem 2. 14 clubs?..