Wasps are in a race against time to secure a place in the Championship for next season — and their future as a viable professional rugby club. At present they have no director of rugby and no players, while the chief executive, Andy Scott, left a month ago, with no replacement appointed. Wasps are a club who exist on paper only and the clock is ticking.
The new owners have until the RFU’s board meeting this month to demonstrate that they can fulfil up to eight criteria — ranging from governance to building a competitive squad — or their licence to compete in the Championship next season will be revoked.
Wasps, the champions of England on six occasions and twice conquerors of Europe, were suspended from the Gallagher Premiership by the RFU in October after going bust with £95 million of debt, and then relegated to the second tier as punishment.
Halo22 Ltd, a company owned by Christopher Holland, lifted the club out of administration in December when it bought the intellectual property, history and memorabilia of Wasps RFC for £150,000.
The RFU announced in December that Wasps would be permitted to take their place in the Championship after the governing body had conducted “extensive due diligence”, including a background check on Holland, who already owned the club’s training centre at Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, and an examination of the business plan.
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However, this licence approval was subject to a series of specific conditions being met and there is understood to be some concern at Twickenham over the progress Wasps have made. The RFU wants to be certain that the club will be able to participate next season so it can push ahead with restructuring the Championship, hence the looming deadline.
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The Championship this season comprised 12 clubs; it was won by Jersey, with Richmond set to be relegated and replaced by Cambridge. The inclusion of Wasps would make it a 13-team league. Some provisional fixture lists show the division could feature 14 teams, which would mean a stay of execution for Richmond.
On a sporting front, Wasps have much to do. They must demonstrate to the RFU that a new director of rugby is at least close to being appointed and provide evidence of a recruitment plan that would deliver a squad capable of competing in the Championship.
Wasps made initial inquiries about rehiring Lee Blackett, who was head coach when the club went bust, but he has now joined Bath as an assistant coach. With no director of rugby in place, Wasps have not recruited any players. The board have not been responding to inquiries from agents. The club will need to sign upwards of about 30 players before pre-season training begins in August.
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It is uncertain at present what the club’s playing budget would be. Having had to sell their Premiership share back to the league for £9.8 million after going into administration, Wasps no longer have access to those top-flight revenue streams and Championship funding from the RFU is about £100,000.
Meanwhile, Ealing Trailfinders, who finished second in the league to Jersey Reds, have strengthened for next season with the recruitment from Gloucester of Billy Twelvetrees, the former England centre, and Jordy Reid, the flanker.
Wasps have made progress on a potential stadium, although that tale exposes further the cruel and continuing mismanagement of Worcester Warriors, the first club who went into administration this season.
The best location in the country for the establishment of a new professional rugby club would be Canterbury in Kent, according to research, because of the potential for converting a strong rugby community into followers of a Premiership team.
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However, Wasps are set on remaining in the Midlands, near the training centre, and they have requested permission from the RFU to play at Sixways, Worcester’s home ground, for the next three years.
Last week it emerged that Holland, via another of his companies, Loxwood Holdings Ltd, had loaned Worcester’s new owners, Atlas WWRFC, £1.15 million.
The arrangement was described by Wasps as “a means of securing our agreement to enter a three-year lease for Sixways”.
With the Wasps training centre being rented by Birmingham City FC at present, the club could relocate fully to the Sixways site — using it for matches, training and as a headquarters for all rugby operations at a cost of £600,000 a year.
But the whole arrangement has provoked strong opposition from the Worcester Warriors Supporters Trust (WWST), which has told the RFU it would be “unforgivable” to grant Wasps permission to play at Sixways.
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The WWST claimed the tenancy proposal and the loan arrangement breached multiple RFU regulations, including rules that state no party can hold direct or indirect influence over a second club.
“It would be unforgivable if a club without any stadium or facilities, which has left behind vast debts and misery in Coventry, was given preferential treatment over our long-established club,” the WWST said in a statement to the RFU.
“Wasps have no history in our local area; we believe they are intent on effectively poaching a ‘ready-made’ fanbase.”
If the Sixways plan is rejected by the RFU — or if Atlas WWRFC cannot pay back the loan and the stadium has to be sold — then Wasps will play their home games next season at Solihull Moors FC, which has already been signed off.
To be granted their provisional licence back in December, Wasps had to commit to settling all debts with rugby creditors, including players, club employees and agents who went unpaid before the previous incarnation of the club hit the wall.
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This is believed to be one of the bigger stumbling blocks, especially if Derek Richardson, the former owner, who is owed £28 million from loans to the club, is also considered a rugby creditor. The club are understood to be arguing that the image rights portion of a player’s income should not be included.
The RFU has governance demands too. Under the terms of the insolvency agreement, Wasps must demonstrate that the majority of the board is independent. There has been no public confirmation of appointments but it was reported in December that the Wasps board includes: Dame Inga Beale, a former chief executive of Lloyd’s of London, Simon Morris, chief creative officer worldwide at Amazon, and Chris Braithwaite, a former head of Apple’s global real-estate division.
The board must hold its first meeting by May 31, to which an RFU observer must be invited to attend. Wasps must also demonstrate they have established an audit and risk committee and provide their most recent accounts.
“We have been given certain criteria to meet a deadline set by the RFU and will submit a detailed written response to them by the due date,” a Wasps spokesperson said.
The future of Wasps rests on whether the RFU board is satisfied by that submission. The clock is ticking.
Update (10.05.23): This article was updated online to remove an incorrect claim about the funding of the club when it was bought out of administration.
