By Matt Hardy
Former Worcester Warriors coach Steve Diamond has announced plans to lead a consortium with the aim of buying the financially stricken club who are in the hands of administrators and have been expelled from Premiership Rugby.
Under his plans, announced yesterday with an early afternoon visual presentation, Diamond would become chief executive of a project that’s named ‘Sixways Village’. He will be part of the investment board – alongside yet-to-be-named partners – while former Leicester Tigers executive Simon Cohen and Mike Blood – once secretary under the former owners’ business – will also be involved as non-executive directors.
“The ownership management is a highly experienced team of investors who have joined myself in what we feel will be an exciting project moving over the next five to 10 years,” Diamond said yesterday.
“The investment board is a local investor who’s been a major sponsor for several years and lots of other sporting organisations in the locality, from south Birmingham to Herefordshire.
“The other investor is a property developer who specialises in waste management, who I have known for 25 years.
“Their names will remain in the background up until we go in front of the RFU [Rugby Football Union]. I’ll be on the investment board and the CEO.”
The bid becomes the second publicly facing one, after former chief executive Jim O’Toole joined up with Atlas SportsTech early on during the saga surrounding Worcester Warriors.
Diamond made it clear that, if successful, he does not expect Worcester to return to the Premiership for three years – some would suggest this is image management but others have stated how difficult a RFU Championship season becomes when a club loses so much of it’s playing infrastructure.
The former Sale sharks and Russia coach also stated that he’d aim for the club’s playing squad to be 75 per cent home grown or academy produced by the 2026-2027 season and for the company to maintain a women’s team and its academy structure.
“The Championship has always been that bounce-back competition [for relegated clubs],” Diamond added. “With what Ealing are doing – which is fantastic – Cornish Pirates, Doncaster, Jersey, if Wasps end up there and we end up there there’s going to be six teams who are highly competitive.”
English domestic rugby is in a crisis at the moment with Warriors and Wasps entering administration within months of each other.
The sport is seemingly flat on its face in England despite the increased eyes on international rugby.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney recently acknowledged that change must happen but that clubs could be waiting until 2025 before that comes around.
A criticism of both Premiership Rugby and the RFU is that their fit and proper tests for directors’ and owners’ are not up to scratch with many suggesting that changes to the criteria could drive out owners like the ones Worcester have recently endured – Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham recently put some blame on fans and players for the club’s financial woes.
“PRL [Premiership Rugby] and the RFU work very closely together, I think the governance does perhaps overlap in some areas but it obviously didn’t overlap in the fit and proper [test, conditions to meet before a club can be purchased] area but I think they’ll tighten the net on that,” Diamond added.
A preferred bidder is expected to be named in the next fortnight.
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