Worcester & Wasps: RFU 'shooting itself in the foot', says Worcester MP Robin Walker
- Published
Worcester MP Robin Walker has now spoken in parliament three times over the issues facing Premiership clubs
Worcester MP Robin Walker has told Parliament that the Rugby Football Union is "shooting itself in the foot" over the virtual collapse of men's professional rugby in the Midlands.
Walker said that forcing Wasps and Worcester to start again as phoenix clubs in lower leagues would not attract sufficient commercial impetus.
And he has urged rugby to look at the model of some fan-owned football clubs.
Walker cited AFC Wimbledon and now Hollywood-owned Wrexham as examples.
Walker first highlighted Warriors' plight to Parliament's attention in August 2022, when the club were still under the ownership of Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring, prior to going into administration over unpaid tax.
He then addressed Parliament in September, urging the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to sanction putting Warriors into administration, in the hope of attracting bidders.
He then spoke again when the heads of both Premiership Rugby and the RFU met with the DCMS in November to discuss the futures of both Worcester and fellow collapsed Premiership club, then Coventry-based Wasps.
Since then, a third member of last season's Premiership - founder members London Irish - have become the third club to collapse also leaving playing and non-playing staff jobless.
Conservative MP Walker, 45, who announced in March that he would not stand for Parliament again at the next election, this time addressed an adjournment debate to highlight what he perceives is the best way for the rugby authorities to respond.
"Most of us with experience of the business world would understand a phoenix situation to apply when, and only when, the former owners of a business, or related parties to them, seek to bring a business out of administration," he said.
"But the current RFU guidelines require any new investor, even when they have no relation to the previous ones, to spend a long period in special measures and with extra supervision.
"A level playing field for supervision and greater transparency with the regulator is absolutely right in professional rugby. The saga of the Warriors under previous ownership very much demonstrates the need for this.
"But I worry that in creating extra hurdles for new investors to take a club forward and provide the investment to keep a club in professional rugby, the RFU is shooting itself in the foot when it comes to the sustainability of the professional game.
"Supporters' trusts have played a crucial role in getting many football clubs back into contention. Wimbledon and Wrexham are notable examples and many Warriors supporters are keen to see what can be done to use this model in rugby.
"The new owners of the club and the stadium, Atlas, have themselves stated that they want to see fan ownership play an increased role in the future of the club.
"I would strongly urge Atlas to sit down with the newly-formed supporters' trust and see how they can work together to achieve this.
"But for any investor to put money into rugby, there needs to be clarity about the proposition and right now there does not seem to be that clarity."
Atlas, led by former rugby player James Sandford and ex-Warriors chief executive Jim O'Toole, officially completed their purchase of the club on 3 May but have not spoken publicly since.
Atlas partners James Sandford (left) and Jim O'Toole became Worcester Warriors owners in February
They were on the receiving end of some strong words from the Cecil Duckworth-created charitable wing of the club following the loss of an automatic RFU payment due to Warriors no longer being a Premiership club.
Walker added, in his 2,500-word speech: "I do not have time in a short adjournment debate to run through the saga of mismanagement and the journey to administration that we have been through, nor to go into the detail of the very different situation with the same end result at Wasps.
"But what is clear is that the financial model of professional rugby union is going through a period of profound challenge and it is vital that the regulators of the sport show that they recognise the extent of this and take action to address it.
"The only remaining professional side in the West Midlands in men's rugby union is Coventry in the Championship - a league whose sustainability is being questioned almost daily.
"I recognise the pressures on the RFU to treat clubs equally and to stand by the precedents they have previously set but I am deeply concerned that their decision in the case of both the Warriors and the Wasps that the only way back into professional rugby is to go all the way down to the bottom of the amateur pyramid is self-defeating.
"I know that the Minister will say it is not his job to run the sport and that the RFU and PRL have between them this responsibility but they need to move swiftly to provide much needed clarity, to show how investors can bring teams into professional rugby and make it sustainable."
Atlas have been contacted for comment by the BBC.