#AlwaysAWarrior

WARRIOR

[wawr-ee-er] noun

1. shows great courage and perseverance

2. one with the willpower to overcome any struggle

We all like to consider ourselves as people who can strive against adversity and, let's face it, as Warrior's fans we have had our fair share of struggles. The challenge to return Worcester Warriors to elite level rugby at Sixways is however, by some distance, the biggest challenge we will have all faced on behalf of our club. If you picture a Warrior, you may see a giant of a man standing alone in battle against hordes of opponents, swinging his axe and felling six in one blow. However, this hero will inevitably come to a grizzly end, swamped by sheer weight of numbers. What I'd like you to picture is an army of Warriors, a multitude made up of all shapes, sizes, colours and creeds. This legion is the one to win the war and this is how we will overcome the odds and return our teams, both Men and Women, to the green green plastic of home!

YOUR FELLOW WARRIORS NEED YOU

Tongue firmly in cheek above but, seriously, numbers mean strength - not just in allegorical tales but in reality. If a club can demonstrate a large supporter base then it immediately becomes a more attractive proposition to investors, sponsors, the media and even to other potential supporters. Governing bodies, councillors and politicians also realise that they can no longer afford to turn aside when faced by a populous organisation. That is why, we are asking you to rally around your friends and families; remind that neighbour who used to go along to Sixways but hasn't been interested in rugby since administration; call up that mate who came to a couple of games and couldn't believe that you were allowed to take drinks to your seats. Money may beget money but Support definitely begets Support.

WWST is especially grateful to each and every one of our members but, nevertheless, we would really appreciate your help in trying to build on our numbers. To help with this we have launched a "Refer a Friend" scheme; full details of which can be found here.

WWST NEWS

Unfortunately our planned "away-day" trip to Kidderminster Carolians on April 6th has been shelved due to an unforeseen clash with another club event. There are still a handful of tickets remaining for the coach trip to watch Coventry RFC take on Bedford Blues on April 20th. Coventry are still flying high in 3rd place following their recent defeat of league leaders Ealing Trailfinders but Bedford are snapping at their heels, just 5 points behind with a game in hand. We have also released tickets for Hartpury v Caldy on May 4th. Please take a look at our Events page to purchase tickets.

Potentially on the cards is a day-trip down to Cardiff for Welsh Rugby's "Judgement Day" double-header on June 1st., when Scarlets take on Dragons followed by Cardiff v Ospreys. The trust is running these events at cost price for our members; as a trip to the Welsh capital would be a reasonably large financial outlay we'd like to gauge interest before committing to purchasing tickets. If you would be interested in such a trip please indicate below:

POLL NOW CLOSED

UPDATE FROM SIXWAYS

It's been a little while since we have produced a blog-post for the website but hopefully you will have been following postings on our Facebook Page or indeed on Twitter. We fully understand the ongoing anxiety about the dearth of information amongst Warriors supporters, especially as there have been positive announcements from both Wasps and London Irish in the last week or so. Although there has yet to be any public announcement from the new management at Sixways, we can confirm that WWST remains in regular communication with the new owners and that progress continues to be made regarding the prospect of returning Worcester Warriors to elite level rugby. It is a complex jigsaw to assemble and will still need a number of pieces to fall into place. However, our confidence in the current ownership has not diminished.

As has been widely reported there are ongoing negotiations between the RFU and the Championship clubs regarding the future of Tier 2 rugby. To quote from an RFU statement released on Feb 16th:

"Following a meeting of all the Championship clubs on 8th February and an update to Council today, the RFU and Championship have agreed a revised timeline to progress plans around the development of Tier 2.  RFU Council voted, today, in favour of the principle of introducing Minimum Operating Standards for rugby’s second tier, as part of plans for the growth strategy of the league.   

Between now and Friday 29 March, the RFU and the Championship will work together to further agree the detail within the Minimum Operating Standards (MOS), establish a governance structure for the league, confirm the number of teams in the league and discuss promotion/relegation mechanics within the structures.    

Following working group meetings between now and the end of March, an update will be provided to Council at its April meeting. 

We would like to thank all National League clubs who have expressed an interest in being part of a relaunched second tier."

Given that most vigorous negotiations in any walk of life tend to go right up to the wire, it would seem distinctly possible that we could be waiting until June, when the current Professional Game Agreement expires, to fully understand the criteria for application to the new Tier 2 league.

A FAREWELL MESSAGE

Anyone reading this blog will undoubtedly have read the reporting of Marcello Cossali-Francis who is calling time on his career as a sports journalist for a host of Newsquest titles across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. These include Worcester News, Hereford Times, Malvern Gazette, Redditch Advertiser and many more. Chances are, if you've ever read a match report or editorial in the sports pages of your local newspaper, it will have been written by MCF.

He has been a great help in promoting WWST and we are extremely grateful for that. We believe his final assignment at Worcester News will be to report on Worcester City FC's FA Vase two-legged semi-final against Great Wakering Rovers. We sincerely hope that he signs off on a high with The Blues booking their trip to Wembley Stadium in May.

THANK YOU & FAREWELL MARCELLO!

PS

Further updates on the liquidation of Worcester Warriors Women, the insolvency practitioner association investigation, WWST merchandise and the minutes of last week's board meeting will be released over the next few days.