Bristol Bears stand to be an immediate beneficiary should London Irish tragically go the way of Wasps and Worcester Warriors and collapse.
The loss of a third Premiership rugby club in the space of nine months would be a tragedy for fans and players and a crushing inditement of the unsustainable current model of professional rugby in England which requires generous benefactors like Bristol’s owner Steve Lansdown to repeatedly dig deep into their pockets to keep the lights on. Now London Irish’s owner Mick Crossan has said enough is enough and put the club up for sale, but with reported debts of £30m it is hardly an enticing prospect.
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