English rugby chiefs admit London Irish have a “mountain to climb” to avoid becoming the third Premiership club this season to go bust.
The Exiles, more than £30 million in debt, have been given a deadline of next Tuesday to prove their viability for next season or join Worcester and Wasps in being removed from the rugby map.
Irish have been linked with a takeover by a US consortium but the group, said to include former NBA and NFL players, has yet to provide proof of funds and league bosses are fearing the worst.
Simon Massie-Taylor, chief executive of Premiership Rugby, said: “This is an incredibly important few days for the club in trying to secure this deal.
“There’s clearly a mountain to climb for the club and a big decision for the owner as to what to do with the legacy of his club.”
Jack Nowell has made himself unavailable for the World Cup in order to settle his family in France ahead of his move to La Rochelle.
The outgoing Exeter wing, who has not been capped by England since Steve Borthwick took charge, told the RugbyPass Offload podcast; "No World Cup, I'm not doing the World Cup. I am just going to chill.
"I need to get my knee sorted. Obviously, it was a bit of a hard decision not to put myself in for selection for the World Cup. I thought it was probably one I had to make for myself and for my family as well."
