Jersey Reds have become the fourth club ranked in England‘s top 20 at the start of last season to fold since then as they confirmed they had ceased trading in a statement on Thursday morning.
The 2022/23 Championship winners said they had no alternative but to take the move that was made at 5:30pm on Wednesday, especially in light of the delay to information regarding the new Professional Game Agreement (PGA) due at the end of the season.
It means they are almost certain to join Premiership clubs that collapsed last season – Worcester, Wasps and London Irish – in liquidating their business in what what has proved be a devastating 12 months for English club rugby.
“We had been able to start the season and maintain sufficient funds to cover the summer, but regret that our conversations with potential new investors as well as existing ones have been unsuccessful,” Reds chairman Mark Morgan said in a statement.
“At one stage at the end of last season it appeared there was a viable way forward for the second tier once the new Professional Game Agreement was implemented from summer 2024, but Championship clubs have been left in the dark since that point and this led to a growing fatigue among those who may have invested, but could not be given any concrete assurance about when the new structure would come in, or how it would be funded.”
Although the three previously mentioned clubs’ struggles were much publicised in the lead up to them going into administration, let alone liquidation, the loss of Jersey will come as a major shock to English club rugby fans.
Jersey, like Ealing before them the previous season, were denied promotion to the Premiership despite winning the Championship due to the RFU’s “Minimum Standards Criteria” which require clubs to have a 5,000 capacity stadium, with planning permission to expand to 10,001 seats.
It meant they missed out on possible Premiership television rights revenue, and with no news about the new PGA looking to provide a better financial outcome for the Championship than the previous one, they have been forced to pull the plug.
The previous PGA agreement saw Championship clubs paid just £160,000 by the RFU, more than four times less than the salary of under-fire CEO Bill Sweeney who takes home £668,000 annually.
English rugby’s governing body have faced more criticism in the wake of the surprise news, but hit back at the club’s comments regarding the PGA as they stated Championship clubs had been kept up to speed with progress up to this point.
The RFU statement read: “It is extremely disappointing that investors would take decisions at this early point in the season to place the club in such a position.
“Championship clubs had clear confirmation from the RFU on funding for the 2023/24 season and we have been working with the Championship and Premiership Rugby on the new Professional Game Partnership and shape of Premiership 2 with funding levels to be confirmed at the end of this calendar year.
“The Championship has been fully involved in these discussions since February which are aimed at stabilising and strengthening the professional game.”
Even that response wasn’t enough to appease many, with TRP reporter Jon Newcombe questioning the credibility of the RFU’s statement just two minutes after it was published at 11:25am.
The pressure on the club game will grow further, and whilst RFU Chairman Tom Ilube and Sweeney will expect the RFU council to continue to “be focused on supporting the England team” during the World Cup, they may well be out of post before the tournament ends.
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