By Matt Hardy
England Rugby chief Bill Sweeney will tomorrow travel to Stourbridge RFC to hold crunch talks about the club’s potential merger with Worcester Warriors.
The chief executive is set to hear the views of a number of clubs in the area before the Rugby Football Union chooses to back or block any plans the Warriors’ new owners, Atlas, have for the former Premiership club.
The Atlas consortium, spearheaded by former Worcester Warriors chief executive Jim O’Toole and ex-professional player James Sandford, unveiled plans earlier this month to merge Worcester with Stourbridge and enter the English rugby pyramid in the fourth tier.
Sweeney, Stourbridge and talks
Stourbridge are set to vote in the coming weeks on any relationship with Worcester Warriors, which would involve their first team being wrapped up into the Warriors brand. Stourbridge currently sit bottom of England’s fourth tier, National League 2 West.
“RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney is visiting a range of rugby stakeholders in and around Worcester this week to listen to views across the rugby community,” a RFU statement said.
“Meetings will include visits to Worcester RFC and Stourbridge RFC, Worcester Warriors Women and the Worcester Warriors Foundation.”
Worcester fell into administration last year, with administrator Begbies Traynor later declaring Atlas its preferred bidder, despite the group not satisfying the RFU’s conditions, including the fit and proper owners’ and directors’ tests.
As it stands, the consortium will not pay many of the rugby creditors in full, having taken advantage of a legal loophole, although they have said they will set up a hardship fund to ensure some get paid.
Under current plans for the Sixways site, which could yet be seized by local authorities, Worcester Warriors Women, now a separate entity, have a deal to remain at the West Midlands stadium.
Atlas also stated that they had a deal in principle with fellow former Premiership club Wasps that would see the side play at Sixways until Worcester reach the Championship. The club, who were based in Coventry until they too went into administration earlier this season, are also said to have a deal in principle with football club Solihull Moors FC.
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