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Wasps statement: New groundshare and the 'long road ahead'

By Ian Cameron
Kenny Logan (l) and Paul Volley, London Wasps celebrates after the final whistle (Photo by Mike Egerton/EMPICS via Getty Images)

The new owners and operators have Wasps have issued a statement confirming their return in the 2023/24 season, revealing that they have already secured a ground share agreement with a midland’s club.

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Wasps will take their place in the Championship next season after their takeover was approved by the Rugby Football Union and new owners will now look to relaunch the club in the second tier Championship, thereby ensuring their survival as professional entity.

The consortium seeking to buy Wasps, which includes members of Wasps Legends, were given the green light subject to several conditions being met. These include financial commitments to ensure that the club remains funded, the lodging of a significant bond and the swift payment of rugby creditors.

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The new owners have released the following statement:

Wasps have confirmed their return for the 2023/24 season after fully satisfying Rugby Football Union (RFU) requirements. HALO22 Limited, a company owned by Christopher Holland, recently completed the purchase of the intellectual property, history and memorabilia of Wasps RFC – a transaction that saw the Club exit administration.

Andy Scott, a former CEO of 188Bet and Interim CEO of the Wasps Legends Charitable Foundation, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, and will be supported by former players including Kenny Logan and Peter Scrivener, as well as a new main board of senior level executives.

With the formal transfer of assets complete, the new management group submitted a long-term business plan and were approved under the RFU’s fit and proper person’s test. Following this, the Wasps Men’s team can now confirm they will start the 2023/24 season in the Championship, English Rugby’s second tier.

As part of proposals accepted by the sport’s governing body, a groundshare agreement has been reached with a Midlands venue – which will be announced in the near future – to host its home games.
Andy Scott commented: “We are proud and delighted to secure the future of this great Club. Wasps is a famous and highly regarded name in the history of English and European rugby and while this is a new venture and a fresh start, it is fundamentally built on the same values that brought the Club success and respect in its heyday.”

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Christopher Holland, the Club’s new owner, said: “As the new custodian of Wasps, I am fully aware of the responsibilities I have to its supporters, history and heritage. I do not underestimate that duty.

“Even though it has been an extremely challenging time for everybody connected with the Club, today’s decision is a reward for the hard work undertaken to date, and means we can now start planning for the future.

“There is, however, a long road ahead of us. In addition to fulfilling the obligations to rugby creditors as set out in regulation five by the RFU, we continue our conversations with investors to improve the funding we have acquired to date.

“We are diligently creating a viable long-term business model for the Club, and we have had to meet rightfully stringent and modern business requirements for regulatory control and corporate governance. The RFU and PRL have been a supportive partner during the process.

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“I would like to place on record my thanks to all of our fans and partners, the wider rugby community, and all former players and staff. The support we have received has been incredible.”

Worcester will not be joining them unless they find new buyers. Atlas Worcester Warriors Rugby Club Ltd, the consortium led by the club’s former chief executive Jim O’Toole, has seen its bid rejected on the grounds of its refusal to meet the conditions set by the RFU.

additional reporting PA

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Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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