Wasps have been officially suspended from the Premiership for the rest of the season and the Rugby Football Union has confirmed the club’s relegation to the Championship next term. The move was expected by the RFU, given Wasps were put into administration earlier this month with 167 employees – including all players and staff – made redundant and it leaves Premiership officials now planning to see out the rest of the season with just 11 clubs.
Wasps will enter next season’s Championship if investment is forthcoming but there are no guarantees, with the former chief executive Stephen Vaughan recently revealing the club are more than £100m in debt. Wasps are in effect now in the same position as Worcester and they can appeal against their relegation if they can show evidence of a “no‑fault” insolvency.
Upon launching a consortium to take over Worcester, Steve Diamond said he expected the Warriors to face a number of years to get back into the Premiership and Wasps are facing a similar situation, assuming they can secure investment. As was the case with Worcester, the RFU has stipulated that it will be a condition of the deal that all rugby creditors are paid.
Two teams dropping out of the Premiership for the rest of the season wreaks havoc with the fixture list and leaves clubs six-figure sums out of pocket but it is understood that attempts to redraw the schedule have previously failed because there has not been unanimous agreement.
Louis Rees-Zammit scored one try and made another with an audacious pass for captain Lewis Ludlow as Gloucester beat Exeter 38-22.
Santiago Carreras, Santiago Socino, Charlie Chapman and Ruan Ackermann also scored for the hosts at Kingsholm, with fly-half Adam Hastings kicking four conversions as the Cherry and Whites secured a bonus-point win to go third in the table.
Exeter gave as good as they got for large parts of an absorbing contest, claiming tries from Jack Maunder, Ruben van Heerden and Josh Hodge, while Harvey Skinner added two conversions and a penalty. It was not enough to deny Gloucester a fourth successive league win, however.
The Gloucester head coach, George Skivington, reserved special praise for Wales winger Rees-Zammit (pictured) after the game. 'For me, the magical moments are great - he is gifted - but the hard work he is putting into defence, kick-chase, all the stuff that will make him a world-class winger is what is really impressive.'
'I think that was our best performance (this season) all round,' Skivington added. 'We are still not executing everything, but we are playing against very good teams. We are getting there slowly.' PA Media
Efforts are expected to continue, however, while earlier results involving both Worcester and Wasps have been scrubbed from the table. Meanwhile, Premiership Rugby and the RFU have been summoned for questioning by the House of Commons digital, culture, media and sport select committee on 24 November.
“The RFU is encouraged by the progress made by the administrators and it has taken the decision to suspend the team in order to support the prospect of securing a deal with the right investor and giving the club the best chance for a long term sustainable future,” read an RFU statement. “Any potential investors and management will require due diligence and approvals from the RFU and PRL [Premiership Rugby Limited]. A condition of any potential deal will include a requirement for the payment of all rugby creditors. The decision also gives certainty to PRL and Premiership rugby clubs to protect the integrity of Gallagher Premiership Rugby and allow clubs and their teams to plan for the rest of the season.”
A handful of former Wasps players, including Brad Shields, Vincent Koch and Paolo Odogwu, have found new clubs, while Jack Willis finds himself in the bizarre position of preparing for England’s autumn internationals campaign without a domestic team.
