Tier 2 Update
It would be remiss of me not to start with the news that will give some heart to us all, as supporters of Worcester Warriors. This afternoon the club released a short statement which confirms that they are still in the fight to win the much vaunted final place in next season's Tier 2. Although there is no "news" as such in the statement, at least we can be reassured that the club is thinking of its supporters. We can only imagine how challenging the wait for a decision must be for the club management; a decision that was scheduled for delivery before Christmas.
As I have been heard to say many times before, good communication is key to both preventing ill-feeling and resolving disputes. The statement release today was most welcome and hopefully will renew some of the optimism we all felt at our Q&A in January.
Dear supporter,
As part of our ongoing commitment to communicate to supporters as we work to bring competitive Rugby back to Sixways, Worcester Warriors can confirm that we have fully complied with all requirements set by the RFU as part of the tender process for entry into the Tier 2 Competition, launching in the 2025/26 season.
While this has been an in-depth and extremely thorough process, we remain committed to ensuring that all necessary criteria are met. To this point, we continue to engage with the RFU and all other key stakeholders daily, and our objective to return Rugby to Sixways for the 2025/26 season has not waivered.
We appreciate the patience and support of our fans, partners, and wider Rugby community throughout this journey, and we look forward to announcing the outcome of our application as soon as we can in the coming weeks.
Another piece of information that was encouraging to read this week was the assertion from the RFU that next year's Tier 2 will definitely comprise of 14 teams. There had been much speculation on various forums that the Tier 2 format would be abandoned altogether; this appears to contradict that theory. To quote from the North Midlands RFU statetment dated 2nd March: "It has now been confirmed that the increase of the Championship (Tier 2) to 14 clubs will result in a reprieve from relegation at each level of the pyramid." This doesn't mean that Warriors will be the 14th team, of course, but at least it confirms that we are still in with a shout.
RFU Roadshow, Bromsgrove
It would appear that the RFU has extended its local engagement tour, or the "Save Sweeney Roadshow" as one of the broadsheets called it. There will be an additional event at Bromsgrove Rugby Club, Finstall Road on this coming Monday, 10th March 7-9pm. WWST will be sending representatives who will attempt to ask serious questions about the poor communication and misinformation regarding the Tier 2 process as well as the shelving of the Midlands RFU Academies and the lack of representation for North Midlands RFU amongst the top two tiers.
If any other Warriors supporters are planning to attend the event (sadly now sold out) please do let us know via email trust@wwst.co.uk or our Contact Form.
Franklin's Gardens Away Day
As previously advertised, WWST took a coach load of Warriors fans up to Northampton last Saturday to watch Saints take on Ealing Trailfinders in the quarter final of the Premiership Rugby Cup.
The game was entertaining with ten tries shared between the sides. Ealing started the stronger and, despite Northampton scoring three unanswered tries midway through the first half, the London team never looked like losing the advantage. The match finished 26-43 and Ealing march on to their second semi-final in as many years.
A couple of ex-Warriors were later stalked by a few of the WWST party, including Biyi Alo who put in a good shift on the field for Ealing.
In the stands behind us Fin Smith was finding out what it's like to be an England star as Bob Low had to push past a large group of ten year olds with autograph books at the ready.
Fin was good enough to pose for several photos with the Warriors faithful (some perhaps more faithful than others...)
Personally I think that the addition of the Championship Clubs over the last two seasons has rejuvenated the competition; it has been exciting to see local fixtures such as Coventry v Leicester, Bedford v Northampton and Exeter v Cornish Pirates. Sadly it seems that this initiative will not continue into next season with rumours that the ten Premiership Clubs have restricted invitations to just six of the current Championship teams. In turn the Championship Clubs are said to have withdrawn en-bloc. This intransigence on both parts is symptomatic of the poor governance of our professional game.
Six Nations
The final few words must go to our trio of Warriors Academy graduates who shared the pitch in the final moments of the Calcutta Cup last Six Nations weekend. Let us hope dearly that they manage to share more game time this coming Sunday afternoon against Italy. Ted deserves more than anyone to be allowed to impact the game rather than appearing at the death for a token cap.
No Worcester Warriors Academy player has ever gone on to represent the British & Irish Lions. What price that we have three on one tour in 2025?
Great update, much appreciated. fingers crossed for the tier 2 application success and wouldn't it be marvellous if the Warriors diaspora came back to play at Sixways in the not too distant future