Worcester and Wasps’ future in doubt as councillors plot to seize Sixways from owners February 22, 2023 The Mayor of Worcester wants the Atlas consortium to be stripped of the Sixways stadium site, plunging the futures of Worcester Warriors and Wasps into fresh uncertainty. Worcester Warriors are set to return to Sixways next year in a controversial deal with Stourbridge RFC, while the club’s new owners say Wasps have agreed to play [...]
Wales coach Warren Gatland calls for compromise as strike threatens England Six Nations match February 21, 2023 Wales rugby coach Warren Gatland has called on his players and the country’s union to compromise in a contract stand-off that has cast doubt on Saturday’s Six Nations match with England. Gatland cancelled a training session and delayed naming his team for the weekend fixture as a result of the row, and insists that the [...]
Premiership Rugby CEO clarifies role of new rugby sporting commission February 20, 2023 Premiership Rugby has announced plans to overhaul its governance with a new sporting commission and financial monitoring panel. The moves are part of sweeping changes at the top of the English game following the downfall of both Worcester Warriors and Wasps. “We’re setting up an independent reporting commission to make sporting decisions on behalf of [...]
MLR’s Utah Warriors CEO: Rugby needs to put commercialism first February 20, 2023 If you were looking for a nation to grab something traditional by the horns and zhuzh it up, it would be the United States wouldn’t it? Well, now rugby is entering the rodeo ring to have that treatment. Because last month, Major League Rugby (MLR) franchise Utah Warriors announced a partnership with five-time European champions [...]
Former City lawyer tasked with reviewing demise of Wasps and Worcester Warriors in Premiership Rugby financial review February 20, 2023 Legal heavyweight Sir Nigel Boardman, a former partner at City law firm Slaughter and May, has been appointed to lead a review of the financial crisis engulfing Premiership Rugby. Boardman, 72, led the government inquiry into the Greensill Capital lobbying row in 2021 and last year called time on a near-50-year stint with the Magic [...]
Explainer: Welsh Rugby’s toxicity and can players strike? February 15, 2023 Toxicity in professional Welsh rugby started 20 years ago when clubs became regions, and since then there’s always been points of friction to keep the discourse over the Severn Bridge ticking over. But in the last couple of years the debate and disagreements over minor administrative issues have given way to a dire set of [...]
Worcester FAIL to meet conditions and miss out on place in Championship February 15, 2023 Worcester Warriors have failed to meet the conditions of entry for the Championship and will therefore not take their place in England’s second tier next season. The former Premiership rugby club’s new owners – the Atlas Consortium – failed the RFU fit and proper test over their refusal to pay rugby creditors in December but [...]
Castore co-founder Tom Beahon on shelving IPO plans, bucking the Brexit trend by expanding in Europe, and the Andy Murray-backed sports brand’s first shoe launch February 15, 2023 At a time when Brexit has caused some British businesses to retreat from Europe, fast-growing premium sportswear brand Castore is eager to buck the trend. The company, founded by former City boys Tom and Phil Beahon and which counts Andy Murray among its investors, has opened a distribution centre in the Netherlands and is increasingly [...]
Worcester Warriors name change plan could be scrapped after backlash February 13, 2023 The new owners of former Premiership club Worcester Warriors have said their plans to abandon the club’s name could be reversed. Having announced plans last week to disband the brand and drop into the lower divisions of English rugby to avoid agreeing to Rugby Football Union demands, the Atlas consortium have now said they may [...]
Ed Warner: Rugby union could learn from the NFL model on Super Bowl LVII weekend February 9, 2023 For all the relentless commercial growth of the Premier League, IPL and F1, the NFL remains the sporting brand to beat. Super Bowl LVII will be watched by more than 200m people worldwide on Sunday. The matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles has its stories, but in truth the identity of [...]