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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Robert Kitson

Sad implosion of Wasps and Worcester must be warning call for English rugby

Wasps’ Jack Willis leaves the pitch after the defeat to Northampton Saints on 9 October
Wasps’ Jack Willis leaves the pitch after the defeat to Northampton Saints on 9 October, just days before the club were suspended from the Premiership. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

We could start with the sheer catastrophic waste of it all. All those years, all those hundreds of millions of pounds squandered. All the fudged decisions and fingers‑crossed accounting. The oceans of bullshit, the overflowing reservoirs of self‑interest. And yet that’s still not the most upsetting element. Worse is the numbing pain for everyone associated with two disintegrating clubs and the human cost of English rugby’s days of reckoning.

There will be some looking at the travails of Wasps and Worcester and giving a resigned shrug. Of course they were spending beyond their means. Of course that couldn’t go on indefinitely. Of course fingers should be pointed at the stewardship of both businesses. But fundamentally this is about people – specifically the umpteen players, coaches, staff and fans let down by those meant to have their best interests at heart.

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