It could be that 2025, in English rugby union, becomes the year of the phoenix.
Thanks to the Rugby Football Union opening a tender process for next season’s expanded Championship, in a bid to reinforce the top of the pyramid, everyone – from university sides to individuals chasing a dream – was invited to throw their hats into the ring.
The process has presented a unique chance for renewal. London Irish, Wasps and Worcester Warriors, the three Premiership clubs who collapsed during the 2022-23 campaign, have applied for places in the 14-team league; a move that has not been universally welcomed.
Two of them have been kept alive by businessman Christopher Holland, the “accidental owner” of both Wasps and Worcester Warriors. He was “the last man standing” on Oct 17 2022, when Wasps entered administration.
Eleven months later, Holland reluctantly exercised a debenture on a loan to Jim O’Toole and James Sandford, the previous owners of Worcester, in which he acquired that entity as well.
Given the spiralling debts and questionable decisions that brought about the respective demises of Irish, Wasps and Worcester, these phoenix clubs will be subjected to inevitable cynicism.
Richmond, London Welsh and Old Elthamians are just three teams who were sent tumbling down the divisions upon experiencing financial difficulties. There are, however, certain parameters at play.
Hefty admission price for Wasps and Worcester
Wasps and Worcester will have to pay any remaining rugby creditors from their previous life. Holland is yet to ascertain the full sum – it will be worked out after the tender deadline passes on Sunday – but estimates that his clubs have an outstanding bill of between £300,000 and as much as £3million each.
“We’re not getting a free ride here,” he insists. “We’re dealing with what we’ve got and we’re not going to whinge about it. There have been recent amendments to the rugby creditor rule, which I have discussed with the RFU, and while doing so, I have confirmed that we will agree [to pay] all the lawful rugby creditors.
“We’re going to have to pay them and if we can’t, we won’t return. I am not going to bring back a club that is unsustainable.”
A second obstacle is Holland’s standing as the major shareholder of both clubs. He has looked at shared ownership and other options, but rugby is suffering from investor fatigue. If Holland does not find new interest, he believes he will be allowed to be a minority shareholder of one and a major shareholder of the other.
“I don’t see it as a conflict of interest, but the court of public opinion might see it differently,” Holland says. “If the RFU rules another way, I’d have to follow that.”
Wasps move to Kent expected
What is certain is that high-level sources have been impressed by Wasps’ plans for a long-term move to Kent. It is understood that a groundshare with the Valley, the home of Charlton Athletic, will not be happening, though there are appropriate alternatives.
Holland has previously explored applying for the United Rugby Championship (URC) and for Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States. But ambitions to establish a stable competition below the Premiership have encouraged him.
He notes that the minimum standards criteria for the Championship in 2025-26 mention a broadcast gantry, sure-fire signs that the competition is gunning for a television deal.
“There are 10 clubs in the Premiership at the moment,” Holland says. “That’s not big enough. They need more, and where are they going to come from? They have to come from the Championship. There needs to be a professional second tier that is funded and regulated.
Proposals are in, too, for a development around Sixways (Worcester’s old ground) that will include a hotel, a medical centre and a golf driving range. “What we have determined is that rugby, more or less at every level, is unsustainable without supplementary income,” Holland adds. “There is not enough money generated by the game itself to make it break even.
“I won’t bring a club back unless it is financially stable and the easiest way to do that is to have an enabling development plan that creates revenue and income that supports the rugby club. Wychavon council [in north Worcester] and Sevenoaks and Swanley councils in Kent have been hugely supportive.”
Kenny Logan, Peter Scrivener and Robert Dawbarn have been working with Holland, whose team of five employees has been supplemented by volunteers.
“We have a number of voluntary supporters. Our graphic designer has been a Wasps supporter all his life and hasn’t charged a penny,” Holland says. “People who we’ve pitched at for funding have thought we had a PLC support base.”
The hope is that there will be a rush to recruit players, coaches and physios one day in the not-too-distant future. Such a chaotic scramble would mean that the phoenixes are rising to the next stage.
Holland’s two clubs have contrasting characters. “Worcester have a home, they have a stadium,” he says. “We’ve launched a new Sixways website and are about to launch one for Warriors. It’s localised and there is a very strong community of support.
A passion for rugby money can’t buy
“Wasps has, for a long time, been a nomadic club, but one with a huge worldwide following. I’ve had emails of support from Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, the Falklands Islands, America, Canada and more.
“When we can establish ourselves in Kent and the Greater London area, I hope we will be able to finally galvanise a home for Wasps.”
Simon Massie-Taylor, the Premiership Rugby chief executive, told the BBC this week that “the more rugby brands there are in the country, the better for the sport”. With that message in mind, Holland has inadvertently become a rather important figure for rugby union.
“I’ve looked at the URC, at the MLR. I’ve looked at franchising and everything else to bring back Wasps at the highest level possible,” Holland adds. “I’ve grown to respect and admire the people I’ve met, both in the Wasps and the Worcester camps.
“They are genuinely grateful and really want their clubs back. To see that passion is gratifying. You can’t buy that.”
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