Wasps players made redundant after club enters administration | Rugby union

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The entire Wasps squad have lost their jobs after the club was put into administration with relegation expected to follow. Players were left in tears as they were informed of their fate at a meeting on Monday with one of the most storied clubs in English rugby set to join Worcester in dropping down to the Championship next season.

Wasps remain hopeful of finding urgent fresh investment to avoid going bus but while entering administration on Monday was widely expected, the bleak announcement that 167 people – including all players and coaches – had been made redundant was sobering on another torrid day for the English game. The RFU has declined to comment but the union’s state regulations that administration will result in relegation unless Wasps can prove a “no-fault” insolvency on appeal. The Wasps chief executive, Stephen Vaughan, said dialogue was ongoing with the RFU but conceded, “we probably understand that we have to come back in the Championship.”

Wasps had bought themselves time by twice interested filing notice of intention to appoint administrators and while there have been parties in a takeover, including a consortium led by the former chief executive, David Armstrong, time has ultimately run out. Wasps owe £2m to HMRC as well £35m to bondholders as part of the scheme that financed their move to Coventry in 2014.

Unless a swift takeover can be achieved, suspension from this season’s Premiership will be made permanent and the fact that Leicester have already confirmed Sunday’s scheduled fixture has been canceled paints a bleak outlook for Wasps, who list six domestic and two European titles among their achievements. “This is a dark day for English rugby, and we know this will be devastating news for every Wasps player and member of staff, past players, sponsors, and their thousands of supporters throughout the world, and anyone who has ever been involved with this great club,” read a statement on behalf of the administrators, FRP.

“Our immediate focus is on supporting those who have lost their jobs this morning. This will be an incredibly challenging time for every individual, and we will be assisting them in making claims to the redundancy payments service. The board and many others across the club have worked tirelessly over the last few weeks to try and find a solution that would allow the club to move forward, and it is with great regret that there has been insufficient time to allow this to happen. However, we remain in ongoing discussions with interested parties and are confident that a deal will be secured that will allow Wasps to continue.

“We would like to thank the RFU and PRL for their support to date and we continue to engage closely with them as negotiations with interested parties continue. Of course, time remains of the essence, and we will be doing everything in our power to progress discussions with interested parties as quickly as possible, while fulfilling our statutory duties as administrators.”

In the short-term, players and coaches are now faced with scrambling around for new clubs. Jack Willis was the only Wasps player included in Eddie Jones’ 36-man squad for the autumn internationals and faces the prospect of maintaining his fitness alone before joining up with the squad next week. By the time England face Argentina on 6 November he will not have had a club match for four weeks. Jones, however, was bullish that the crisis engulfing the domestic game will not affect the national side.

“It won’t impact us,” said Jones. “We can only control what we can control. Jack can control what he can control. So the big thing for him is that he prepares like an international player. He’s got a great opportunity to come into camp in the best physical condition he’s ever been in. The great thing we saw from him in the last camp is that he’s made a significant improvement in that area. He has another opportunity this autumn. Some of our staff are working with him to get him in the right position.”

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It remains to be seen whether Premiership Rugby redraws its fixtures for the remainder of the season – it is agreed a revised schedule was recently circulated to clubs and rejected by some – but the league is now in a desperate position. Plans are afoot to redraw the domestic structure of English rugby for the 2024-25 campaign with support growing for a 10-team top flight but how next season shapes up is still unclear with both Wasps and Worcester dropping out. Ealing are the favorites to win the Championship though it remains to be seen whether they will meet the criteria required to form a 12-team Premiership.

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