The rugby world was rocked this week as the RFU announced that Worcester Warriors would be suspended from the Premiership amidst the club’s partial liquidation and unpaid taxes. The suspension will last until the end of next season, meaning that they will not play in the Premiership until at least 2024. In the meantime, they will be suspended for the 2022/3 season before being relegated to the Championship for the 2023/4 season. 

The 2021/2 season was a turbulent one for the club. Ultimately, the club was able to win the Premiership Cup for the first time in their history. The joy from this victory was cut short, however, as news of the financial troubles has spoiled hopes of retaining the trophy.

The club issued a statement on the 5th October. In the statement, the Warriors say that they entered administration on 27th September 2022. Additionally, there is a group of three administrators from Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP are currently speaking with interested parties to see whether the club can be bought out.

The statement also says that WRFC Players Limited went into compulsory liquidation on the 5th October. This came in the wake of a winding up petition from HMRC. Compulsory liquidation essentially means that the club must stop its operations, and sell its assets in order to pay back their debt.

The women’s side are also embroiled in this affair, but their fate seems slightly rosier. As the women’s game involves less money, the funding necessary to revive the club could be easier to find. The RFU stated that there is a chance that the Worcester Warriors women’s team could continue in the Allianz Premier 15s this season, despite the men’s side being suspended.

The chances of Worcester Warriors becoming extinct are very low. This is primarily because the administrators said that the land around Sixways, the Warriors’ stadium, will be seized. It would then be a part of any future sale of the club.

The administration and partial liquidation of the club also created a huge amount of uncertainty for the players. The players and staff had their contracts terminated following the monetary issues. Seven players from the Worcester Warriors have found new clubs already, but that number is expected to rise by January. One of them is Renato Giammarioli, who was signed by the Bordeaux Beagles for the remainder of the current season.

The Warriors going into administration brings back memories of Scottish football giants Rangers going under just over a decade ago. The Scottish club had a similar situation, going into liquidation in October 2012. Rangers were forced to register as a new company, and the other Scottish clubs refused them entry in the place of the previous company. They then had to enter the third division, which is the fourth tier of Scottish football. 

However, the fact that Rangers were able to gain promotion back into the Scottish premiership in 2016 will bring hope to Worcester fans. Going through such hardships has galvanised the Rangers fan base in numerous ways, and their resurgence was borne from a passion for the club and the game. It is very possible that Worcester will come back with fans as devoted as ever, and their ascent back to the Premiership could come around in their first season back playing in 2024. 

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