A month on from being suspended from the Gallagher Premiership, Worcester Warriors' former director of rugby Steve Diamond has announced he is leading a "highly-experienced" consortium of English and local businesses with the aim of returning to the top division within four years
Thursday 27 October 2022 18:04, UK
Former Worcester Warriors director of rugby Steve Diamond has launched a bid to rescue the club from administration and restore it to the Gallagher Premiership within the next four years.
Diamond is leading a consortium, Sixways Village, which also includes former Leicester chief executive Simon Cohen, and hopes to achieve preferred bidder status with administrators Begbies Traynor.
Worcester collapsed into administration and were partially liquidated earlier this month with HM Customs and Revenue pursuing unpaid tax in the region of £6m. They are currently suspended from the Premiership and face relegation at the end of the season.
"My goal is to create a sustainable business that is able to compete back in the Premiership within the next three or four years, and allows professional rugby to thrive in Worcester," said Diamond, who would be chief executive of the new venture.
"It took us a month to put the plan together and we presented it last week to the RFU and the PRL (Premiership Rugby). Now a decision needs to be made and hopefully that decision is for the right organisation to put Worcester Warriors back on the map."
As a result of the club's collapse, all contracts were terminated and over 20 of the club's former players have found new roles.
Diamond said he has no argument with the rules which stipulate the club will be relegated to the Championship at the end of the season, where they are expected to join Wasps, who also fell into administration earlier this month.
"I think due punishment and sanction is required - I'm prepared to take the relegation and it may take us two or three years to get back to a position where we can challenge to get back into the Premiership," added Diamond.
"It is a big opportunity to take the club into the Championship, where I've never coached or played.
"I think I've got a vision that could revolutionise the Championship and make people in the Premiership look down and say, 'these guys are running sustainable rugby businesses, how do we follow suit?'."
At least one other consortium is believed to be bidding for control of the club, with the administrators reportedly on the verge of naming their preferred bidder.
Diamond also highlighted the positive comments he's been given by Bill Sweeney, the chief executive officer of the RFU.
"The way that you make these businesses work is that they've got to operate as a business for 250 days a year, not as a 16-game business with rugby matches, where the benefactor has to keep putting his hand in his pocket," he said.
"Those days are obviously over with what's happened to Worcester Warriors and what's happened to Wasps.
"I've delivered my plan to PRL and to the RFU and I've spoken to Bill Sweeney in New Zealand, who said it was a very credible plan and that he would like to meet on his return to go through some of the finer detail."
