London Irish players and staff are facing a nervous wait today to discover the Exiles’ fate, with the club’s future hinging on owner Mick Crossan paying their wages.
The RFU have given Irish chiefs until this evening to live up to promises made yesterday to deliver wages on time or be suspended from the Gallagher Premiership.
Bosses at the RFU last night agreed a one-week stay of execution for Irish to complete their US-led takeover, but only if Crossan paid the club’s payroll in full today.
Powerday founder Crossan is understood to have told Irish players and staff at lunchtime yesterday that he would deliver their May wages on time, but then later attempted to reduce that commitment by 50 per cent.
The RFU will not accept Crossan’s offer to pay half the club’s wage bill, leaving Irish’s existence hanging by a thread.
“The RFU Club Financial Viability Group met yesterday evening, it noted the conditions set by the RFU had not been met and considered the application for an extension to the deadline,” the RFU said in a statement.
“It was agreed to defer the decision for 24 hours to establish if the club is able to honour the commitment it has made to staff. The group will meet again this evening.”
Crossan still has the ability to pledge a full season’s funding, which would satisfy RFU demands, but the Exiles owner since 2013 has opted not to take such action at every stage of a protracted takeover process that was first mooted in October.
Crossan has been repeatedly reminded of his responsibilities as owner of London Irish by the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association.
The consortium aiming to take control has so far failed to deliver any substantive information to the RFU on the make-up of the group or its sources of funding.
