Wasps & Worcester: Premiership Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor warns of 'no quick fix'

Wasps won the Premiership title six times and were European Champions Cup winners in 2004 and 2007

Premiership Rugby has outlined plans to reform the game in England with fewer clubs in the top flight and a more "integrated" Championship.

Chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said a reduction from the current 13-team model would fit a longer-term view that "less is more".

The financial demise of Worcester and Wasps has triggered a review over the sustainability of the sport.

Any changes are expected to happen in time for the 2024-25 season.

Current plans were to increase the number of Premiership sides to 14 from next season.

But with Worcester already suspended and relegated following their move into administration, there are now 12 this season.

That is likely to drop to 11 with Wasps also banned from playing after announcing they are "days" away from appointing insolvency experts.

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter has already called for the Premiership to be reduced to a 10-team division.

• 'If it can happen to Wasps, who might be next?'

• Rugby Union Weekly podcast - listen and subscribe

Situation at Wasps 'heartbreaking'

Massie-Taylor warned there was "no quick fix" to the current problems but says the plight of Worcester and Wasps demanded change.

"I think we need to look honestly at that ambition. When we're looking at the long term there is an argument for 'less is more'," he told BBC Sport.

He confirmed Wasps are due to appoint administrators "next week" but did offer hope they could play again this season if they "can move quickly" and prove they have the funding for the rest of the campaign.

"It's clearly heartbreaking," Massie-Taylor said. "There's a lot of people close to the club, some that I work with, and hearing the impact it's having on them as well is tough and hard to not take personally.

"There is still a chance but as we've learned with Worcester we do need to manage our expectations around how quickly they can return."

In a statement given later on Friday, the Rugby Players' Association (RPA) called for players from Worcester and Wasps to be given "a seat at the table" in any future decision-making within the sport.

"Now is the time for a new way forward. We remain optimistic about the future of this brilliant game in England," the RPA said.

"However, reaching a brighter future requires true collaboration, with a seat for all at the table, including players. It may not be easy but it has never been more necessary."

Worcester club captain Ted Hill said, "Looking forward now, players need to be not only considered but involved in the decision making as a minimum standard," with Wasps captain Joe Launchbury adding, "Players must be at the table in decisions being made about the future of the game."

Worcester administrators close to naming 'preferred bidder'

The situation at Worcester is more advanced with the club already consigned to the Championship next season and having had part of the club wound up, leading to all staff and players having their contracts cancelled.

But Massie-Taylor said administrators were close to naming a preferred bidder.

"The good news is that they've had a couple of interested parties, we've engaged with both and helped them," he explained.

"The administrator will hopefully be picking a preferred bidder in the next few days and we will continue to engage with them in finding a solution.

"In the short term Worcester will be a different club, unfortunately, but if that's the trade-off for having a long-term prosperous club within the community then I think, for rugby's sake, that's the right thing."

• Worcester to appeal against suspension & relegation

Simon Massie-Taylor was appointed chief executive of Premiership Rugby in October 2021

With Worcester's results expunged, Massie-Taylor said there was a potential to "rejig" the fixture schedule after Christmas but said that would depend on what happens at Wasps.

Following on from Thursday's announcement by Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for more financial transparency in the game, Massie-Taylor is optimistic that other clubs can keep their heads above water financially.

"The vast majority of our clubs are on a stable footing - both in terms of their investors and also their model, albeit that clearly taking a couple of games out of the schedule has a financial impact, it's something they can absorb - albeit it's painful," he said.

"I can't honestly tell you now that this couldn't affect other clubs that have less stable models, until we have full financial visibility of clubs... but I think that will always be something where we're operating slightly blind.

"Saying that, no club has flagged to us any issues - it's a constantly watching brief."

Massie-Taylor added there was "no magic pot of money" in the short term available to Premiership Rugby or the RFU but said there was a belief that there was "a better model there with the right construct of teams and the right competition, where you can draw crowds".

He agreed that there needed to be an "alignment" with the RFU for "meaningful change to happen" but said they were "more aligned than ever" on solving the issues.

"I feel like this can't drag on - we need to make some quick decisions, it may not please everyone but I think everyone has a duty to the wider game."

The Premiership's announcement forms part of a 10-point plan to safeguard the future of the sport in both "growth" and "sporting" objectives.

These include establishing a more "robust structure and governance model", a "more stable and sustainable club eco-system", as well as "improving player welfare" and "world-beating club teams".

Also central to the plans is a revamping of the Championship into a "higher standard" and "more integrated" division that "develops young talent and is more commercially viable".

Massie-Taylor added: "We need to balance that with what happens to the second tier - clearly 'less is more' helps with some of the narrative of the season and the conflict with the international season, and player welfare needs to be considered with that as well.

"We hope to come up with a definitive view towards the back end of this year."

• The champion of two courts ignored by the world: Ora Washington fought to make her name in racially segregated America

• How is a jet engine made? Go behind the scenes at the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby to find out