Worcester Warriors

For almost a year, the future of Worcester Warriors, a club that had risen up through rugby’s pyramid, hung in the balance. Fans, players, office staff and coaches could do little more than watch as the incredible rugby legacy of Cecil Duckworth was torn apart. 

Most cities in the world have a cult hero. Most sports clubs in the world have a legendary figure. For Worcester, that person covers both. Cecil Duckworth CBE moved to Worcester in 1958 as an ambitious but humble businessman and over the next thirty years, he grew his engineering business into a multi-million-pound company. Having introduced the first combination boilers into the world, Duckworth sold Worcester Engineering Co Ltd to Bosch Group in 1992, pocketing himself £30 million. In 1996 he retired from his role as president of Worcester Bosch and began his love affair with Worcester Warriors. He pumped a large majority of that £30million into the rugby club to help take it from the regional leagues into the professional game and the Premiership by 2004. 

Duckworth, who passed away from cancer in 2020, aged 83, oversaw the club’s transformation from Worcester RFC into Worcester Warriors and the development of Sixways Stadium. It went beyond rugby. He became a governor at Worcester Sixth Form, contributed millions to local charities and was named on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his work within the Worcester community.

Cecil created jobs, circulated more money for the city and produced Worcester Warriors, a club still adored by thousands. His legacy will never die, he was bigger than any club but he loved Warriors and had he still been alive today, he would have been heart-broken to experience what has happened in the last twelve months. 

Saturday 17 May, 2022. Premiership Rugby Cup champions.
A year ago, everything seemed so different. A top-flight trophy to show for the hard work, not just of the current squad, led by Steve Diamond, but also what had gone before. The Cecil Duckworth years, and all those promotions up through the pyramid, the promotions, the relegations, the promotions again. And what a way to win too: 25-25 at full-time, into extra time against another burgeoning side, London Irish. (How ironic that they were the opponents that day. They will surely appear in another issue of Rugby Journal. But for now, let’s focus on Worcester Warriors.) A balanced team full of bright young talent such as twenty-year-old fly-half Fin Smith, who’d held his nerve with a last-minute conversion to take the tie beyond the eighty (or rather eighty-five) minutes. They had seasoned clubmen Ted Hill and Matt Kvesic, the latter scoring, an England player in Ollie Lawrence, and Lions quality in Duhan Van der Merwe. It was a squad that could go places with a coach, in Diamond, that could find potential in the most unlikely places. They won on tries scored. Things were going their way and there seemed to be nothing but optimism for those in black and gold.

Thursday 9 June, 2022. The first signs...
The Telegraph are the first to report Worcester’s financial difficulties. According to the article, Warriors’ players and staff received their monthly salaries for their cup-winning May a couple of days late, which owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham put down to a, ‘short-term cash-flow issue’ with the bank. 

Initially, it didn’t seem to be of much concern. Money was tight for all clubs and in the aftermath of the Covid years, most clubs were struggling. 

In fact, it all seemed to settle for a while and the news coming out of the club was positive; new players were being signed by Diamond ready for the new 2022/23 season and all talk was of what the goals and aims for the campaign were. 

Wednesday 17 August, 2022. Winding-up... 
Worcester Warriors were issued a winding-up petition by HMRC over an unpaid tax bill of around £5 million and the alarm bells became deafening and signalled the start of a story that would rumble on for months. The winding-up petition meant the accounts were frozen until the debt was repaid but, given the club were clearly all out of cash, paying that back, in hindsight, was never going to happen.

Players and staff were now on edge and communication between them and the owners was almost non-existent; restricted to social media speculation as the story spiralled out of control. One player who was right in the thick of it, Matt Kvesic, summed it up. “It has been a tough few weeks,” he said at the time. “We have been guessing a lot; finding out second-hand through people or the press and even on Twitter, which isn’t always true but it’s hard to not listen to the rumours. You want to hear about things from the top but we cannot do much about it other than listening to what Dimes (Steve Diamond) says and trust in that really.”

As is often the case these days, social media certainly played its part in this story. The lack of information naturally led people there, desperate for updates on the situation, which seemed to continually evolve as August rolls into September. 

Every day seemed to throw up a new deadline or a new promise for players, staff and coaches to be paid. Supporters, naturally, were among those to voice their concerns, but the players also refused to stay silent. 

Tuesday 23 August, 2022. #together... 
On 23 August, the players, coaches and staff all posted a picture of the team in a huddle, with the #together hashtag. It was a poignant moment, one that was spread far and wide. “It’s not just some sort of campaign, we genuinely are tight as a group,” said Kvesic in a press conference. “We are working hard. We still have to play rugby, that’s our job. We are gearing up for that first game of the season so now we have to try and put our best foot forward and show we mean business.”

The role that Steve Diamond played in this storm was monumental, remaining a constant for the players and the supporters, guiding them through. He offered players financial support and even a place to stay for those younger players who had been turfed out of the academy house following the freeze on the club’s bank accounts. When players were asked about the situation in the build-up to the games that were to come, they often referenced him and how much of a constant he was for everyone at the club.

One player, Joe Batley, said: “When you become a professional player, you don’t think about these things happening. It has taken everyone off guard. If it was just me affected then I would take it a lot easier but when you have a young family like I do, it’s emotional, it’s tough. 

“Dimes has led us really well. He has kept us updated, he is our leader in all of this and we trust him completely. He has been very upfront and honest, when he hears things, he lets us know and that is all we have at the moment.”

Sunday 28 August, 2022. Atlas enter the frame...
It was late August when Atlas emerged, involving former executive director at Warriors, Jim O’Toole, alongside business partner James Sandford. The ambition was to oversee the club going into administration; that was what they and many others believed to be the way to save the club. 

The instant reaction, given the situation, was positive. People were, on the whole, hopeful that these two would be able to save the club from going bust. At the time, anything was better than the previous owners, for a lot of people. O’Toole’s statement read: “I can confirm that James Sandford of Atlas SportsTech Limited and I have today submitted a proposal to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) regarding the funding and the future of Worcester Warriors rugby club. This includes a commitment to multi-year operational funding and to meeting the repayment of the long-term government loan.

The success of this proposal is dependent on the relevant entities being placed into immediate administration which we have encouraged the DCMS to implement.”

Wednesday 31 August, 2022. Pre-season friendly cancelled...
The wait for pay lingered on into September and with the rugby season just around the corner, Premiership Rugby and the RFU were now on red alert and were taking a keen interest in the story as it developed. Unrest was building among supporters, players and coaches, mixed in with anger at the owners that continued to grow with every deadline that passed.

August came to an end and Whittingham confirmed payroll would be late and that when it did come, the players would be paid in full, but the other staff would only receive 65 per cent of their salaries, something else that fuelled the anger towards the owners, who were coming under serious pressure from all corners. 

The storm was by now in full effect, players were trying to push through with pre-season preparations, but on 31 August, the planned pre-season clash with Glasgow in Inverness was cancelled due to the ongoing situation. 

It was hardly a surprise; players, staff and coaches, were still unclear as to whether or not they had a job. The timing was terrible too, as with the salary cap cut for the 2022/23 season, clubs had even smaller budgets and less room to take players on, so Worcester players would have to compete with the knowledge that a serious injury could make finding a new club extremely difficult. 

Saturday 10 September, 2022. New season, same problems, same kit...
Wearing last season’s kit and with their future still unclear, Worcester Warriors took to the field for the first game of the season at London Irish. With no money for coach travel, sponsor Adam Hewitt came forward to dip into his own pocket to help fund the trip to London.

Supporters tried to get excited, but it was a tough sell. Preparations for the season could not have been worse, the club was in tatters. In all truth, it was not much of a contest on the pitch. Irish looked like a side who had enjoyed a good pre-season, were match fit and mentally prepared for the season ahead. A world away from the cup contest, Warriors were unsurprisingly blown away, losing 45-14. 

At full-time, minds switched to the first home game of the season; Warriors versus Exeter. With staff still not paid, there was the real prospect of a protest from them. Why should they work if they weren’t being paid? In every other walk of life, if you were told there was no guarantee of pay, would you turn up? 

But in the end, the staff decided they would work and the game went ahead after the RFU deadline  was met on the Thursday prior. “We remain angry at the continual broken promises and lack of communication from those above and hope for new ownership to come in with a clean break from those currently in position,” said a letter signed by staff members. “Our focus is now on getting the stadium ready for the supporters, who along with players and staff are the true beating heart of this great club.”

Due to the issues with the bank accounts still being frozen and not all staff available to work, the stadium had to run at a reduced capacity for the Exeter clash; so only 4,999 were allowed in to watch. Before the game, a statement was released by Whittingham, stating that “Heads of Terms” with a proposed buyer were in the “final stages of being signed” and that the sale of the rugby club could be completed “within the next 48 hours”.

It was out of the blue and came at a strange time, just fifteen minutes before kick-off. Whittingham and Goldring were nowhere to be seen that day, seemingly staying away from the trouble that was brewing.

In the 65th minute of the 21-36 defeat, there was a moment when the entire stadium applauded the staff, players and coaches – the time chosen to match the percentage of the salaries which lots of people within the company had received.

Friday 23 September, 2022. “Like the death of a dog”
One of the most memorable moments of the whole saga was the pre-match press conference at Sixways with Steve Diamond ahead of the game with Newcastle Falcons. The local and national press were there and a rather chirpy yet fatigued Steve Diamond greeted us as he usually would; a spring in his step and a smirk on his face. 

But the way he spoke about the situation that day really struck a chord with everyone in attendance – it felt so emotional. The realisation that this game at the weekend could be the last was a really grim prospect. “Everything is out of my control,” he said at the time. “But something will have to happen. It’s just the waiting. It’s a bit like the death of a dog. You don’t want the poor thing to go to the vets, it’s on its last legs but you still have to take it. I make comments like that, but it’s the only way I have of dealing with it. If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry.”

Saturday 24 September, 2022. The last hurrah...
It was a day that just felt different. There was an air of celebration about it but also tinged with a feeling of sadness, that something was coming to an end. Warriors were brilliant that day, cheered on by a buoyant crowd. Newcastle were never going to spoil the party and were destroyed 39-5.

At the full-time whistle, wives and children joined the players on the pitch to do a lap of honour and you just felt that this was it, this was the last hurrah.

Afterwards, Diamond admitted that the players had been given the option not to play. “We had a vote yesterday, whether we played or not. It was virtually unanimous. There was a big risk, especially if we go into suspension on Monday.

“But they said to a man they wanted to play and that performance mirrored that. We went out with a bang today.” 

It was a poignant day and will still be one of the best performances I have seen from a Worcester side on the pitch, but the way the players and everyone involved with the club conducted themselves that day, they were a credit to the club and they will always know they went down swinging. 

Monday 26 September, 2022. Administration and liquidation...
A dark day. The deadline from the RFU for Warriors to prove they had the funds required to see out the season was set for 5pm. But there was an air of inevitability about it.

As the clock ticked down, some fans turned up as a mark of respect, almost like at a funeral. In reality, that’s what it was. The club was dying and when 5pm hit, the RFU released the statement saying the club had been suspended from the Premiership for the remainder of the season. And then, just an hour or so later, it was confirmed that the club had been placed into administration.

But that day would be trumped as the darkest day. On 5 October, the part of the company that held all the contracts for players, coaches and staff was liquidated in court. The way it went was soul-destroying for all involved. No one even turned up at the online hearing to argue the case. The owners were not present, no lawyer, and it took all of twenty seconds for the company to be liquidated.

Dave Kling had spent many years running the #RugbyWorcs account on Twitter and had become a real voice for the club and its supporters. But it all ended up being too much for him, and he was another who decided to take a back seat from it all. “To be honest, that day [when the club went into administration] was almost a relief,” he tells Rugby Journal. “It had been building for so long and all parties, aside from Colin (Goldring) and Jason (Whittingham), were adamant that this was the only way forward. It felt like it was the first time that anyone had any control over the course of the club.

“But the day the club was dissolved was far, far worse.  Particularly as neither of the owners showed up for the hearing.”

The liquidation sparked a mass exodus. Players had to find new clubs, staff had to find new places to work and coaches had to move on to somewhere else. The walls were caving in around this club and there was little anyone could do about it.

Players, supporters and everyone else involved were clearly all desperate for answers and when they were not getting any out of Whittingham and Goldring, their anger just grew. And it reached boiling point at the end of September when a statement was released by Whittingham, in which he placed the blame of the financial woes on the fans and players in an extraordinary outburst. “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.”

Then, aimed at the fans, he said: “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  backlash was ferocious and if the owners had any supporters left by that point, even they had now turned on them. There was no coming back from that. 

Someone who was bang in the middle of it all was Warriors’ media and communications executive Luke Summers. He explained that staff hadn’t even seen Goldring and Whittingham since the spring. “The lack of communication was the worst part,” explains Luke. “We were getting leaked messages through the press. One of them was posted twenty minutes before one of the final games which seemed like deliberate tactics to frustrate everyone at the club. 

“The owners spoke to us in spring 2022 in person but weren’t even seen at the club after that.”

Thursday 27 October, 2022. “Sixways Village” 
Begbies Traynor were appointed as the administrators and that began the race between Atlas and director of rugby, Steve Diamond, who also registered a real interest in buying the rugby club. There had been murmurings about such a move and in late October, Diamond put his business plan forward to members of the media, explaining how he would save the club and what he would then do to ensure it was transformed into a sustainable business.  

Given how Diamond had conducted himself through the whole situation, he had the fans’ backing and people were confident that he would be able to carry out his plan. But more than anything else, he had actually laid out a plan for everyone to see and consider, something that Atlas had not by this point.

It felt like it was a close call but just three days after Diamond’s grand presentation, Begbies named Atlas as the preferred bidders, giving them the chance to progress with buying the rugby club and leaving Diamond empty-handed.

The relationship between Atlas and the RFU was a fractured one. Having been confirmed as preferred bidders in November, there was positivity about what would happen next; Atlas would come in, save the club from going bust and begin the rebuild.

They appealed the club’s relegation to the Championship as one of their first moves, but they were unsuccessful – which was the first blow they received. The second was in December when their application to be included in the Championship for the 2023/24 season was rejected, due to insufficient information over funding.

That threw their ownership into doubt and Begbies said they would listen to new and improved offers, something that was backed by supporters. Their opinion was, if Atlas cannot bring Championship rugby back to Sixways, then someone else needs to step in and do so.

But despite more pushing from Diamond and rumours of other interested parties, Begbies confirmed that no bid had matched Atlas’ improved offer after Christmas and they were once again named as preferred bidders. 

Thursday 9 February, 2023. “Sixways Rugby”
This was a day when it all started to feel different. Jim O’Toole was quoted saying that Worcester Warriors as a brand was “dead” and he confirmed that their application to play in the Championship had been withdrawn. He said there would be a rebrand to “Sixways Rugby”’ that would involve a “merger” with Stourbridge Rugby, the National League side from an hour up the road. Atlas wanted to join whichever league Stourbridge were going to drop into, whether that be National League 2 or Midlands 1. In essence, they wanted to use Stourbridge as a platform to re-enter the league system and build from there.

It was so out of the blue, I don’t think it sat well with anyone. Plans also included the proposal to bring Wasps to Sixways, but that felt suspicious. Were they bringing Wasps in as the “elite rugby” team they talked about?

There was uproar from the supporters. Losing the brand was never going to sit well and the protest was vocal to say the least, but O’Toole and Sandford continued to ask people to “join the journey”.

A week later, Atlas invited season ticket holders to a presentation event, in which they discussed and put forward their plans for the club. It was a positive step. Fans were eager to hear about the proposal with Stourbridge, what was happening to the name and whether Wasps were coming to Sixways.

O’Toole started by confirming that the Worcester Warriors brand would remain, which was met by a round of applause. He also reiterated the plan to bring Stourbridge’s first-team to Sixways under the Warriors name, as well as bringing Wasps in as tenants. The presentation was solid. Fans left in a positive mood and some who had arrived with anger and uncertainty, left feeling a bit better about things and there was a sense that good times were going to return. But things did not change and instead, Atlas went back into hibernation mode for weeks.

Throughout this process, communication was and remains the biggest issue. Everything produced was in the form of occasional statements and organised radio interviews. So much of the anger and frustration for everyone involved throughout that ten-month period stemmed from the lack of regular updates. At times, silence is to be expected. There are things you can’t say or release to the public when it comes to matters of business and if there is nothing to say then there is little point concocting something for the sake of it.

But between the fan forum event with Atlas and the end of April, there was little to no news about any plans and with every day that passed, the chances of a Warriors side returning to play rugby next season ebbed further away.

It was at this point some started losing hope, which led to certain individuals removing themselves from the situation altogether. Loyal fan and season ticket holder, Phil Roberts, was one of those. “For me, Worcester Warriors was the meaning of the weekend. It was a huge part of my life and I feel, despite me trying to hold on it’s fair to say Warriors are gone,” said Phil. “Whatever comes next will be a different club, not my club. I have a season ticket at Northampton Saints from next year but we will see if I can rekindle the love for rugby I once had. At the moment it’s 50/50 whether that is possible.”

Wednesday 3 May, 2023. Deal done  
Finally. That is the best word to describe it. Good or bad, the news that Atlas had completed their deal to buy the rugby club was a welcomed one purely in the sense that it brought some clarity to the situation. 

The bad news; a lot of people’s hope and optimism had disappeared and when Atlas spoke to BBC Hereford and Worcester in the aftermath, they confirmed that a men’s Warriors team might be “three to four years away”.

Instantly there was a fear that the club Cecil Duckworth had fought so hard to create, had gone forever. Warriors to be replaced by Wasps? That was ended due to Wasps own demise. So, what would happen at Sixways now?

Supporters have lost hope. Supporters have lost faith. 

To date, this story shows no sign of an immediate ending; good or bad. There is still very little news coming out of the Stourbridge camp, Wasps have had their licence to play in the Championship removed, so it looks as if that plan is dead in the water. If that is the case, and the Stourbridge “merger” also falls through, then Atlas are left with Warriors Women and local non-league football side Worcester Raiders playing out of the 11,000-seater stadium next season.

The saddest thing about all of this is the element of waste. The team that was building under Steve Diamond had just won the Premiership Rugby Cup and hopes of Champions Cup rugby were at their highest in, perhaps, forever.

And now, none of it remains. Players, staff, and coaches have all moved on, the supporters have no men’s rugby club to support and part of the legacy that Cecil Duckworth CBE created has been burnt to the ground and who knows if it will ever be rebuilt again.

Story by Marcello Cossali-Francis

Pictures by Michael Meier and Getty Images

This extract was taken from issue 22 of Rugby.
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