Cecil Duckworth will be turning in his grave - Andy Goode
Worcester’s plight shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone given the state of rugby’s finances but it’s still a mess that will have Cecil Duckworth turning in his grave.
The former Warriors owner sadly passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 83 after pouring his life and soul into the club. That included overseeing and funding the redevelopment of Sixways, which was independently valued at almost £17m.
Now the car park is changing hands, between companies involving new owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham, for as little as £50,000 after the training pitches were also subject to a similar fate for £350,000.
The legalities of such transactions and other goings on at the club recently are for the relevant authorities to assess and that will definitely come under scrutiny if Worcester do enter administration but the ethical element is another matter.
Not all owners have a deep-rooted love of the sports team they’ve acquired and the duo at the helm at Warriors certainly seem to be making decisions that would question if that is the case. It’s a stark contrast to Duckworth, who was Worcester through and through.
Cecil was a great man and lived and breathed the rugby club every day. He had a relationship with everyone involved in Warriors and bought the land around Sixways in order to hopefully secure the long-term future of the club.
I’m incredibly grateful for everything he did for me in my three years at Worcester. He always joked that it was third time lucky when I went there because he’d tried to sign me a couple of times previously and I’d have happily finished my playing days there had it not been for a falling out with then coach Richard Hill.
I had a real affinity with him and got on really well with the fan base, who idolised Cecil for what he’d built. It’s a complex situation but there’s no doubt his legacy is being tarnished at the moment.
As a player, you always know there’s a risk involved when signing for a club and sometimes even look at financial viability when there a different offers on the table but you never expect something like this to happen and I feel desperately for the players turning up to training every day right now not knowing if they are going to be paid or have a job this season.
There are more players than ever who are fit and available but unable to get a contract in the English top flight already because of the salary cap reductions so it’ll be very tough for a lot of the Warriors players to find a new employer if the worst does happen.
However, it’s the other staff at Worcester who I feel for even more. From the commercial team to groundsmen and everyone in between, most will be earning less than those involved in the on-field activities and this is their livelihoods but they have been told not to come to work and have no idea if they will have a job to go back to.
The Premiership season starts in two weeks’ time so all concerned are well aware of the time pressure involved here but we do know there are parties interested in buying the club so there is hope that a positive solution can be found.
Former Warriors chief executive Jim O’Toole is leading a consortium with American investment and Steve Diamond was involved in a bid last year that was turned down.
There are so many intricacies involved behind the scenes that it’s impossible to predict how things will turn out over the course of the coming weeks but fingers crossed a solution that involves “keeping rugby at Sixways” can be found.
This isn’t another London Welsh situation and each case has to be judged on its own merits but, while the club did receive £14 million in taxpayers’ money during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep them afloat, it is clear how precarious rugby’s finances are.
The past couple of years have obviously exacerbated things but we were already in a position where Exeter were the only Premiership club who ever really posted a profit.
This should not come as a shock to anybody but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t question the morality of it and it certainly doesn’t make it any less sad to see Cecil Duckworth’s legacy tainted. It’ll be a travesty if the club does go to the wall but while there is life, there is hope.
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments