Heartbroken Worcester lock responds to owners' bizarre statement
Worcester’s Joe Batley has hit out the owners of the club after a statement released this evening looked to shift blame to players and supporters.
Currently in administration, Worcester’s debts total more than £25million, including at least £6m in unpaid tax, with owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham have been accused of asset-stripping the club.
The club failed to meet a RFU deadline earlier this week requesting proof of insurance cover and funding for the club’s monthly payroll, which resulted in the club being suspended from all competitions.
Goldring and Whittingham issued a statement on Friday evening in which they stated: “We are thankful to those supporters who turned up week in, week out to support the club but sorry that there were not more, nor enough of you on a regular basis to help make the club financially viable despite the significant personal funds we put into the club,” the statement read.
“We are sorry that we did not have the foresight during the pandemic to cut back on the squad budget, but instead remained committed to giving the club the best chance of being competitive.
“We are thankful to all of the staff that supported the club through Covid in accepting a significant reduction in their salary, but sorry that the playing squad could not accept a similar level of reduction.
“And in some players’ instances would not accept any pay cut at all despite our openness at the financial impact this would have on the club.”
Second row Batley described the statement as a ‘kick in the face’.
Batley Tweeted: “No words, after everything they have put us through. It’s not their fault it’s ours apparently. This is such a kick in the face. Every time I think we hit rock bottom we fall a little further.”
No words, after everything they have put us through. It’s not their fault it’s ours apparently. This is such a kick in the face. Every time I think we hit rock bottom we fall a little further. ????? https://t.co/pgViBcvMxL
— Joe Batley (@banterwithbats) September 30, 2022
Batley already triumphed over adversity once in his life – and he remains committed to winning another major fight.
Like his Warriors colleagues, he is anxiously awaiting developments after Worcester were suspended from all competitions and placed in administration.
The Worcester players do not know when, or if, they will be back in action as their place among English rugby’s Gallagher Premiership elite hangs by a thread.
Four years ago, at the age of 21, Batley was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
But he made a successful recovery and was able to continue with his ambitions of playing professional rugby, joining Worcester in 2020.
“When I had cancer it was very much all about me, so I could kind of process that differently,” Batley told the PA news agency earlier this week.
“But now it is a lot different because it (Worcester’s situation) is affecting multiple people.
“There are highs and lows in anything you do in life. Rugby is all I have ever wanted to do.”
Players, coaches, staff and supporters, meanwhile, had little or no communication from the club owners, exacerbating an already tense situation.
“We have been so long in the dark and hearing about scary outcomes that we can’t wait to put an end to all this, one way or the other,” Batley added.
“The guys just want an answer either way. We have been in limbo.
“I have got a young family, so it is tough to think about what’s best for all of us when there are no real options there in terms of we don’t know what’s what.
“My partner doesn’t work at the moment. She stopped working when she had our one-year-old. It’s hard to know what to do next when you don’t know what the outcome is going to be.
“We are very settled here, we bought our first house and had our first child in Worcester. We see it as home. It would be a shame for it to end this way.
“It will be interesting when we go one month, two months without pay – we are not like footballers where we are rolling in cash. A lot of us are living month to month.
“The Premiership can’t wait for us to get our act together for too long, so we know there are time constraints.
“Some lads have taken the opportunity to go and see family and train back home, so I think at this moment whatever is going to keep you mentally fresh, the guys are taking advantage of.
“The uncertainty is what is killing us, but at the same time, everyone is sticking together.
“The fairytale would be amazing for us to stick together, but at the same time a lot of boys live month to month, and if income stops, then the pressure really comes on.
“All we want to do is be back on the pitch playing in front of the fans. It is out of our control, so the quicker everything gets sorted, the better.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments