Worcester confirm bid to return to professional rugby

Worcester Warriors' Sixways stadium is currently home to Worcester Raiders and Worcester City women football clubs

Worcester Warriors have confirmed they have formally submitted their expression of interest to return to competitive rugby.

The club, which went into administration in 2022, have applied to compete in the revamped second-tier Championship.

"Whilst it has clearly been a difficult period for everybody associated with the club, we are fully committed to bringing a high-quality rugby product back to Worcester," said a club statement.

If successful with their application the Warriors say they intend to return to action from the start of the 2025-2026 season.

Worcester join Wasps and London Irish in signalling their intent to return after all three clubs went out of business during the 2022-2023 season.

They are bidding to join a new-look Championship which will expand from 12 to 14 clubs next season.

Wasps and Worcester are now owned by businessman Chris Holland, while Daniel Loitz says he is in talks to resurrect London Irish, with the news being welcomed by the chief executive of Premiership Rugby, Simon Massie-Taylor.

"That is great for rugby, and good for the Premiership," he told BBC 5 live.

"The more rugby brands there are in the country, the better it is for the sport."

Worcester's women's side were also victims of the Warriors' demise

Worcester, along with Wasps, have also stated their intention to resurrect their women's side.

"We respect the process that the RFU has laid out and will update you as and when we have more information on progress," Worcester's club statement said.

"In the meantime, we will be hosting service and legend rugby matches from early 2025 and we are at an advanced stage with a possible return for women's rugby in Worcester, which forms an important part of our rugby strategy going forward."

Lyndsay Whiting, nee O'Donnell, played for Worcester for 12 years and is welcoming a potential return for the club.

"It's really exciting and and I'm sure the great supporters we had will be delighted," she told BBC Hereford & Worcester.

After the Warriors men's side went into administration, the women's team secured separate funding to finish the 2023-2024 season.

"It was difficult at the time (when the club went into administration) as we thought we were separate from the men's side and we had started the season," Whiting added.

"But we got pulled out and then people had to find new clubs and jobs because it wasn't just the players but the staff as well."

The side pulled out of Premiership Women's Rugby in October 2023 after sponsors Cube International withdrew their financial backing.

"We still have our team WhatsApp group and message on it," said Whiting.

"I'm not sure if people will return to the club as they had to change so much and relocate to keep playing rugby.

"There might be some who would go back but there would need to be guarantees in place as no one wants to go through that again."