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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Robert Kitson

Worcester wind back to life with second-tier return and vow to clear debts

Worcester CEO Stephen Vaughan, owner Christopher Holland, Tier 2 chairman Simon Gillham and RFU director of performance Conor O’Shea at Sixways
Worcester CEO Stephen Vaughan (from left), owner Christopher Holland, Tier 2 chairman Simon Gillham and RFU director of performance Conor O’Shea at Sixways. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Worcester Warriors insist they will be both sustainable and competitive when they return to English rugby’s second tier next season almost three years after going bust. The club’s new owners have had to provide stringent financial guarantees and commit to repaying rugby creditors left high and dry when Worcester went into administration with debts of more than £2 5m in September 2022.

In the past clubs such as Richmond and London Welsh have been forced to start again at the foot of the English pyramid but a condition of Worcester’s return to the new-look Tier 2 league is that outstanding debts to, among others, HMRC and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be settled by the end of the year. In addition, the new owners have already made substantial payments to the administrators.

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