Sorry to say, but it’s their own fault
JEFF PROBYN
A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME
THERE is something I always admired about the RFU, it has always attempted to be fair and even in what it does within the game. However, the recent RFU ‘welcome back’ offer to Worcester, Wasps and London Irish is quite a dramatic change from what Richmond, London Welsh, Rotherham and others suffered when they were forced to restart from the bottom of the league structure.
It seems to be a new approach by the RFU to new ownership of the once bankrupt clubs and Worcester owner Chris Holland, who also owns Wasps. All three of the fallen giants have signalled their intent to return and are bidding to join a new-look Championship which will expand from 12 to 14 clubs next season.
Obviously, the chances of any major investor backing a club that has to start from the bottom of the league is most unlikely, particularly as it would be a number of years before the resurrected club could compete in the professional game.
Like it or not, despite the financial losses made by all the Premiership clubs, it is still the professional game that gives the best options of making money from the game. So it seems the RFU have decided that the only way professional clubs can and would be saved is if a new owner were given some sort of incentive.
It seems that an incentive is a direct route back into the professional game by allowing access to the Championship. So far, Holland has only made a statement about his commitment for Worcester’s quick return, which I think is due to the fact that Worcester own their ground and can be redeveloped for other income.
My old club Wasps were constantly on the move before they finally fell foul of financial ruin as they don’t have a ground to sell or redevelop, which could make it some time before we’ll be able to witness their rebirth, even though they have said that they are accepting the chances to rejoin the Championship in the 25/26 season.
It looks as if Wasps have set their heart on a new life in Kent, which actually doesn’t seem like a bad idea as since Blackheath are now in National One, there isn’t what could be called a senior club in the county, despite a number of private schools that play the game and have a good record of creating talented players.
The dream of Holland seems to be to establish a stadium in Kent and attract fans and potential new players from the major towns like, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks where some of those schools are located.
“Clubs know how much money they make and roughly how much an owner is likely to invest”
There is one thing that hasn’t been said which is, what happens in the forthcoming seasons if the resurrected clubs join the Championship? Will there be no promotion from the league below or will it mean a further increase in the Championship’s size, by one every time a team is resurrected.
Then there is the question, will other clubs that in the past have run into financial trouble also be allowed to join the Championship if they can find a new owner who also promises a commitment to play the professional game? After all, Worcester and Wasps not only lost their positions in the leagues but also the players that had helped them there too. The new Worcester and Wasps will be newly formed playing teams and new coaching teams, with no past history of league success or failure.
They will be teams that have been given access to a position in the league structure that hasn’t been earned, possibly at the cost to a team that has struggled to win the league below and only then refused promotion.
As much as I feel sorry for the clubs that find themselves in financial trouble, it has to be said, it is their own fault. Clubs with a history in the game know how much money they make and roughly how much a generous owner is prepared to invest. This makes any overspend on wages or stadium development etc a predictable cost that can’t be met. Worcester’s stadium redevelopment is a major part of the financial restructuring of the club to provide a source of income from outside the game and provide the club with some financial stability.
