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RFU statement: Worcester set Friday deadline or face suspension
By Liam Heagney
Troubled Worcester Warriors face suspension by the RFU if a deadline of 12 noon on Friday regarding their ability to safely hold matches at Sixways passes without the necessary safety assurances materialising.
A Worcester statement on Thursday morning insisted that the club was continuing to work closely with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the RFU and PRL to ensure that this weekend’s Allianz Cup and Gallagher Premiership matches against Harlequins women and Exeter Chiefs could respectively go ahead on Saturday and Sunday.
However, the continued failure of the proposed takeover of the club to be completed has now resulted in an RFU statement on Thursday evening warning that Worcester - who as it stands are still owned by co-owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham - will be suspended at midday on Friday due to an inability to provide a general safety certificate which is necessary to allow matches to go ahead at Sixways.
The statement read: “The RFU, PRL and DCMS have been seeking assurances from the Worcester Warriors owners regarding funding and potential new ownership proposals for several weeks.
“All parties are concerned that the lack of available funds will not allow the club to hold matches safely for players and spectators, and for ongoing medical provision for players. In particular, the local authority have not yet provided the club with a general safety certificate to allow matches to be played at Sixways Stadium.
“All parties must balance the needs of the club to have time to raise funds to safely hold matches, with the need for certainty for supporters, players and support staff of all teams for the matches due to be held at Sixways Stadium this weekend.
“The RFU have written to Worcester Warriors to confirm they will be immediately suspended from all competitions, including the Gallagher Premiership, Allianz Premier 15s and Allianz Cup if assurances as to the ability to safely hold matches at Sixways Stadium are not provided by 12 noon on September 16.
“This includes evidence that the local authority has issued a general safety certificate and written confirmation of medical provision. Any suspension may be lifted once the club has more security of funding and is able to evidence its ability to hold matches safely.”
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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