London Irish players have been told to prepare for the worst, with the club expected to be suspended from the Gallagher Premiership amid a failure to secure financing next season.
The Daily Mail report that a meeting took place on Friday involving key stakeholders, with representatives RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players Association. Owner Mick Crossan is reported to have been invited but failed to attend, with the club now having to seek last minute financing to seal their future.
An American consortium involving former NFL and NBA stars is thought to be in the running to take over the club, but will need to provide proof of finance in order to push through a deal, having not done so thus far. This leaves the likelihood that the Tuesday deadline will not be met and permission to participate in the 2023/24 Premiership will be denied.
The players have been warned that there is no expectation of the situation being resolved, with a 'mountain to climb' and that the club's future at the top level will look increasingly uncertain beyond Tuesday.
In the wake of unpaid wages in April, an internal email sent by the club's chief executive Adrian Alli is reported to have detailed the ongoing situation, revealing that no proof of funds had yet been provided and gave no reason for the delay.
The current Premiership season draws to a close this Saturday, with Saracens and Sale Sharks meeting at Twickenham to decide the winner of this season's competition. Both of those clubs are now likely to be part of a reduced Premiership, with ten teams expected to participate next season.
This season had seen 13 teams start the Premiership campaign, but with Wasps and Worcester both going into administration in October and being relegated as a result. Wasps have seen an offer to play in next season's Championship withdrawn, meaning that the two-time European champions face the possibility of having to climb the league system from its lower reaches.
A similar fate now faces Irish, with England stars such as Henry Arundell and Tom Pearson likely to have to find new clubs. Irish performed well this season, with their fifth placed finish a creditable effort from a club for whom uncertainty has become normal during the course of the season.
There have been special exemptions given to those England players who had to find new clubs earlier in the season from Worcester and Wasps, with Jack Willis playing in the Six Nations despite his move to Toulouse following the RFU's previous ruling that England players should be selected from Premiership clubs.
Premiership clubs' ongoing financial woes will be a concern, with rugby union being hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sport faces declining attendances at club level.
