Wasps consider comeback in URC if return in England not viable
Lack of pathway back to Gallagher Premiership makes joining league with Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Italian and South African clubs an option for Kent-bound side
Owen Slot, Chief Sports Writer
Thursday October 26 2023, 7.00pm, The Times
Wasps would play domestic games against the likes of Edinburgh, whom they took on in Europe in May 2022, if they joined the URC
Wasps are considering joining the United Rugby Championship, rather than playing in the English leagues, on their return to professional rugby.
Wasps announced this week that they intend to re-emerge in Kent and are looking to build an indoor 24-28,000-seater stadium in Swanley. While they are still exploring the option of making their comeback in the English Championship ? which is effectively the second division ? negotiations have been continuing with the URC, which features teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa. Their likely application will be tabled for discussion at the URC?s next board meeting in December.
The URC has not discouraged this conversation. As a rugby competition that covers three of the four stakeholders in British and Irish rugby, it would clearly be advantageous to plant a flag in the biggest market of them all.
There are two entry options into the URC, both of which are being considered. The first is expansion, though the league would naturally prefer to expand its numbers in twos. The second is replacing an existing franchise.
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It is no secret that the WRU sees the advantages of reducing its four professional franchises in Wales to three. The future of Ospreys has already been discussed this year in association with a merger with Cardiff and a potential tie-up with Ealing Trailfinders.
Wasps dropped a hint about their future ambitions in a statement nine days ago when they answered a question about what competition they would return to. The answer was: ?One that is fit for purpose and reflects the values that Wasps and others adhere to. We are pursuing all options in this regard.? ?All options? were the operative words there.
The problem for Wasps has been that there is no certainty of a commercially viable future in the English game. To return into the English system, the best chance of re-entry would be into the Championship, which is soon to be rebranded as Prem2.
However, the wheels are moving too slowly for Wasps, who want to be back playing next season or, if not, a year later. The real problem with the Championship is that it is unclear how long the Premiership will be ring-fenced for and therefore there is no guarantee that promotion is even a possibility.
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Without any clear pathway to the top, Wasps will find it far harder to attract investors. A move straight into the URC would solve that problem.
Chris Holland, the owner of Wasps, who are really at present just a name and a brand, is refusing to bring back the club unless it has a secure financial future, but the English game is unlikely to provide such stability. ?I?m not going to offer anyone a job until I know we?ve got enough money to pay them for two years,? he said.
Martin Anayi, the CEO of the URC who lives in Kent, confirmed that he had been instrumental in helping Wasps to find a prospective new home not just in his county, but also in the league that he runs.
?I?ve had conversations with Wasps predominantly with trying to help them find a home in Kent,? he said. ?Hopefully they?ll have a home in the Premiership. If not, the URC will always be open to further conversation.?
Wasps? future in the URC is at this point only an early-stage possibility. There are a number of approvals and issues that need to be sorted out.
Both Wasps and URC would ideally like to have the RFU?s endorsement but it would be an interesting legal situation if it were not forthcoming. The RFU could regard this in two ways: it could treat a URC franchise in Kent as an invasion and a market threat to English competition; alternatively, it could embrace it as a satisfactory way to bring a historic club back on to their feet and as an advertisement for the game southeast of London where there is no other professional rugby club.
Other important sign-offs would also be required. If an English player is playing for Wasps in an English county but in what is essentially a foreign competition, would he be eligible to play for England?
Recruiting a team in time for next season is one of the few parts of Wasps? complicated future that Holland is not concerned by. ?The team is not a problem,? he said. ?There are literally so many players out there and so many Wasps players who want to come back.?
Rugby union
Topic: URC? (Read 3031 times)
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