Worcester Warriors: Matt Kvesic - 'It feels like I've been retired'
- Published
Matt Kvesic scored Worcester's opening try in last season's Premiership Rugby Cup final triumph over London Irish
Worcester back row Matt Kvesic says the club's precarious plight makes him "feel like I've been retired".
Warriors players and staff had their contracts dissolved last week after the club was wound up in the High Court.
Worcester have been suspended for the season, relegated from the Premiership and seen several top players join other clubs, either permanently or on loan.
"Your whole world sort of turns upside down," Kvesic, 30, told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It's obviously been a pretty tough six weeks but particularly the last week. We knew it was coming but it didn't quite seem real yet."
The former England international, capped four times, praised behind-the-scenes staff who helped Warriors start the season, playing four games before the Rugby Football Union (RFU) suspended the club.
"The last six weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions - not only have we not known what our future holds but we've also had to get prepared for games," he added.
"You don't just wake up and play a rugby match, there's a week's preparation and when you're mentally stressed and drained all the time, it's tough to keep going.
"The support the physios are showing us has been amazing - they only had 65% pay last month, no pay this month and were still turning up last week treating the boys."
'Make sure you have savings and qualifications'
Kvesic hopes the rapid nature of Worcester's demise - the club was wound up just six weeks after details of a £6m tax debt to HM Revenue and Customs first emerged - can act as a warning for players everywhere.
During that timeframe, Warriors' fellow Premiership club and Midlands rivals Wasps have also initiated administration proceedings and could be forced to forfeit ownership of their home ground, the Coventry Building Society Arena, leaving their future uncertain too.
"First and foremost make sure you've got savings to fall back on and qualifications because something like this can happen and it comes out of the blue," said Kvesic, who is currently studying for a financial advisor's diploma.
"I'm not retired but it feels like I've been retired.
"When you are retiring, generally it might be off an injury or you've got a year to get your head around it because you probably know you are not going to get [your contract] renewed.
"This has pretty much been a four-week process and you've got lads who are 26, 24, 22 without a job.
"It's a tough position to be in and we don't want any other club to feel like this so hopefully Wasps will be OK because no one wants to see another club go under."
While the Warriors' women's team, affiliated with the University of Worcester, may be allowed to continue its fixtures in the Premier 15s, Kvesic fears for the future of the club's academy.
"All these young lads coming through, 14, 15 up to 18, who are thinking 'I want to play for Worcester Warriors when I am older, I want to be a professional rugby player'," he added.
"That's now a dream they can't realise at the moment. These are all questions for the administrators, and the RFU and Premiership Rugby need to make decisions on these and hopefully make them quickly."
Worcester lifted the Premiership Rugby Cup for the first time in May - but were wound up just five months later
The current best-case scenario would see Worcester taken over by new owners and begin next season in the Championship - something Kvesic believes is eminently possible.
"I've been - I don't know what the word is - naïve, or stupid or just optimistic," said the open-side flanker, who began his career at Worcester and returned in 2020 after spells with Gloucester and Exeter.
"But whether I have a future here or not, I don't want to see Worcester as a club fold or no longer be around.
"I'm quite confident that buyers are interested - there's no reason why someone wouldn't want to pick up this club. It's got everything it needs facilities-wise, the opportunity is great."
However, the senior squad could have to start from something akin to scratch, with several star players having already left and the ownership issue showing little sign of an imminent resolution.
Bath have signed Ollie Lawrence and Fergus Lee-Warner and are in talks about the futures of Ted Hill and Valery Morozov - both currently on loan - while Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (Ulster), Fin Smith (Northampton), Joe Batley (Bristol), Andrew Kitchener and Tom Howe (both Saracens) have also departed Sixways.
"It's going to be tricky now to keep the squad together because there are boys who need to play rugby - people have families and have to pay bills," Kvesic added.
"It's obviously tough because we wanted to be playing together, no-one wanted to leave, everyone wanted to see the process through, hence why we stuck together for so long.
"But we are in a situation where the boys have to got to do what's right for them and everyone's been thoroughly supportive."