News from Sixways
We have become so familiar with having no official Worcester Warriors website to refer to that it came as some surprise to be greeted this week by Warriors.co.uk with news that the club has submitted their completed application to join English professional rugby's second tier. As previously
reported on this blog the RFU had set a deadline of 5pm on 12th November for clubs to tender their proposal documents to HQ. The application forms, we are told, were just as complex and confusing as anticipated but, despite over a dozen pages of questions, failed to contain any element relating to the views of club supporters. On our last visit to Sixways, on November 4th, the process was already well under way. This was one deadline that was not going to be missed.
The next step will be to discover whether or not Warriors have been shortlisted. Our expectation is that the club will find this out in the next few days; interviews for those selected are scheduled to start w/c November 18th. I am sure you would all like to join us in wishing the presenting team from Sixways the very best of luck for next week.
For those naysayers, virtue-signalling about the right (or not) of Warriors to return at level two of the RFU ladder, it is perhaps worth pointing out the following facts:
All rugby clubs across England, including college and university teams, have been invited by the RFU to apply to join the new Tier 2 competition.
Worcester Warriors no longer has a P-share. This was sold back to PRL by the administrators for approaching £10m; in turn, this was used to pay off a large proportion of the club's DCMS covid loan.
The Warriors' ownership has publicly stated that they will pay their "Rugby Creditors" as part of the RFU's insolvency regulations. This from an interview with one of the national broadsheets: "I have confirmed that we will agree to pay all the lawful rugby creditors. We’re going to have to pay them and if we can’t, we won’t return. I am not going to bring back a club that is unsustainable.”
Unfavourable comparison with the fates of past financially-stricken clubs is, in this correspondent's opinion, unfair. It is simply not the case that the likes of Worcester and Wasps are being given an easy ride by the RFU. It is worth reflecting on the following:
London Scottish and Richmond went into administration 25 years ago when the financial climate was entirely different. The professional elements of both clubs were absorbed into London Irish, which continued to thrive, whilst their amateur branches reformed a year later.
London Welsh went into administration in 2009 but were allowed to continue in the same league (The Championship) with just a 5-point deduction. They foundered again in 2016 but were allowed to complete their Championship season operating under the umbrella of Rugby 1885. They were only expunged from the league structure when they failed to meet the conditions of the RFU insolvency protocols (Regulation 5) - protocols that the new Worcester Warriors will have to fulfil.
Coventry RFC also entered administration in 2009 but were allowed to return in National Division One in 2010 after being subject to a 15 point deduction in The Championship season of 09/10. The Midlands club did satisfy the RFU's insolvency regulations and hence suffered no additional penalty.
Jersey Reds were liquidated in October 2023 as reigning Championship Winners. Just 12 months before, the professional "club" had been separated from the amateur wing. Indeed a new company called Jersey Rugby Football Club (2023) Ltd. was established just one day before the Reds were liquidated. Only £140k worth of assets were left under the Jersey Reds name despite debts of over £3m.
Jersey RFC retained the lion's share of resources included their 4000 capacity stadium. They now play under the same badge at the same stadium and are sitting second in their league at Level 5 of the RFU ladder, having gained back-to-back promotions and attracting lucrative new sponsorship deals.
Appointments Galore
There have been several newsworthy appointments in the rugby community over the last week.
Perhaps the most significant of these from a Warriors perspective is the announcement that Simon Gillham OBE is now the inaugural Chair of the recently established Tier 2 Board. The Board is the body responsible for driving the growth of the men's second tier in England. Mr Gillham has been involved in French professional rugby administration for over 20 years and is currently Vice President of CA Brive. Until June of this year he was President of Brive; during his time at the club he has seen them relegated to Pro-D2 twice. He remains however a strong believer in promotion/relegation. Gillham has also been involved in the procurement of sponsorship and television deals for French rugby. For all intents and purposes this would appear to be an excellent appointment for those wishing to see the growth of professional rugby in England.
Serial Chairman Mike McTighe has been appointed Chair of the Men's Professional Rugby Board by the RFU. This body was created by the RFU in association with PRL and the RPA (Rugby Players Association) as part of the new 8-year Men's Professional Game Agreement. It replaces the Professional Game Board and will oversee strategy with the aim of creating "world-leading English teams and thriving professional leagues with players and fans at the heart of it." Mr McTighe is also Chairman of financial services company IG Group, telecommunications giant Openreach, specialist lenders Together Financial Services Ltd and the Telegraph Media Group. Clearly he has better time management skills than the Chairman of WWST.
He is joined on the PRB by non-executive directors Rachel Baillache and Ged Roddy MBE.
A third prestigious role has also been decided on in the last few days with Dr Brett Robinson being elected as the new Chair of World Rugby. He takes over from Sir Bill Beaumont who occupied the role for eight years. Robinson becomes the first elected Chairman to hail from the Southern Hemisphere. His Vice Chairman is to be Mr Jonathan Webb ex of Bristol RFC, Bath Rugby and England. As a former medic myself I find it interesting that both are, or have been, Orthopaedic Knee Specialists. Given the age-old joke, "What do you call two orthopaedic surgeons reading an ECG?" (The answer of course being a "Double-blind study"), we must hope that their administrative skills outrank those in the electrophysiology field.
WWST AGM & Supporter Event
We have previously alluded to the fact that we intend to hold our AGM in January 2025. Due to the optimistic news surrounding the potential for the club to return to professional rugby in 2025/26 we wanted to expand this to involve input from the club's ownership and their partners. We are delighted that Chris Holland, sole director of Junction 6 Limited, and Carol Hart, CEO of the Worcester Warriors Foundation have both agreed to sit on a panel for a Q&A session with supporters. There will also be a representative from the current WWST Board. We hope to bring a 4th member onto the panel; this will be confirmed at a later date. We are very grateful to our Honorary President, Dave Bradley, who will be hosting the Q&A.
The event will be held in the Duckworth Suite at Sixways Stadium and will take place on the evening of Thursday 23rd January. The AGM will be held beforehand, at around 7pm, with the Q&A/Presentations expected to commence at 7.30pm. There will be a licensed bar and light refreshments available. Subscribed Members of WWST can attend the event at no additional cost and will have a priority window in which to secure their tickets. Those without a subscribed membership will be very welcome to attend but will be subject to a small admission fee to help partially recoup the costs of hosting.
Further details and information about ticketing will be released within the next month.
© Sixways Stadium Ltd
An Expression of Thanks
The Board of WWST are saddened to announce that founding member, Richard Edy, has stepped down from his role as Non-Executive Director as of 14th October due to personal matters. Here are some of the reactions from his fellow board members:
"Right from day one you were instrumental in inspiring us to drive this thing forward. Thank you for your input and unwavering support Richard."
"Thank you for your well written and inspiring words Richard. Look forward to seeing you at Sixways for our very first home game."
"Thank you Richard for all that you've done in helping us get the trust off the ground and where it is today."
"You were the spark to get things moving and without your guidance early on we would never have progressed."
Many many thanks for your input Richard. As is evident, it has been very much appreciated.
Sixways Events
Lastly, an opportunity to plug a few events organised by our friends at Sixways. Please do what you can to support the commercial side of the business as it is vital to the future financial health of Worcester Warriors. Make sure you bookmark the Sixways Stadium website and sign up to their mailing list so that you don't miss out.
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