Wasps icon Lawrence Dallaglio has finally spoken out regarding the recent revelation that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) revoked their license to participate in the upcoming Championship season.
It was widely anticipated that the beleaguered Gallagher Premiership club would resurface in the second tier for the 2023/24 season, but last week’s turn of events shattered that possibility.
Wasps remain without a ground but have a training base in Henley-in-Arden.
Before going into administration, the six-times English champions had been based in Coventry.
Should they still be considered to be in the Midlands, that would mean they enter either Counties 4 Midlands West (North) or Counties 4 Midlands West (South) – both of which are in the 10th tier.
Speaking on his latest Evening Standard Rugby Podcast, Dallaglio said: “When you get statements released and the RFU saying, ‘We have been doing everything to help Wasps’, they have been doing very little to help Wasps actually.
“When you say, ‘We have done everything to help Wasps and help Worcester’, I’m not sure who has written that because it’s just pulled out of thin air.
“Actually, the phone has been very quiet for quite some time and the reality is that rugby is a busted flush as it has been financially for quite some time.
“People obviously want only want 10 teams in the league because if they wanted something different, they would create something different. That is the reality. If you want to let brands like Wasps and Worcester go… good luck to you.
“Wasps couldn’t go to investors to get money to come into the club if they don’t know what the structure is for the Championship and they don’t know what the structure is for the Premiership and the RFU and PRL couldn’t give them that. If your funding for the Premiership is £4.5million/£5m per club and your funding for the Championship is only £50,000, that is quite a difficult thing to bridge.”
Dallaglio added: “Things will move on. At the moment, Wasps are back in the lowest league and if we have to play and get promoted 10 years on the trot, we will do that because it is a strong group of people.
“There are a lot of very influential people within Wasps and they will come back. I’d watch this space, it’s not quite all over just yet.”
Premiership Rugby Confirm Trio of Hall of Fame Inductees
The Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame, is reserved for just the elite few players who have unforgettable impacts upon the league. Launched in 2013, the first inductees were those unmistakeable players, who had won the Premiership Player of the Season Award, from 1997 to 2012.
In every season since then, Premiership Rugby honours additional inductees, with the ceremony taking place the night before the Premiership Rugby Final. The awards night takes place at Twickenham Stadium, in what is a fitting venue for the legends of the English top flight.
For a player to be inducted they need to have retired for one full season and have played more than 150 Premiership Rugby matches. Here are the latest three inductees, that make up the ‘Class of 2023’, in the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame.
Matt Banahan
An icon of West Country rugby, Matt Banahan made over 250 Premiership appearances for Bath, and a subsequent 44 for Gloucester Rugby throughout his legendary career. The powerhouse winger was a revered threat, during his days as a Premiership Rugby player, and would get his supporting fans out their seats, be it at the Rec or Kingsholm Stadium.
With 71 Premiership tries to his name, Banahan is the eighth highest try-scoring Premiership player of all time. Banahan finished his career two tries ahead of Harlequins England Sevens star Paul Sackey, and four behind Sale Sharks legend Steve Hanley. The giant winger toward over his opponents, and better resembled a lock at 6ft 7″.
The Jersey-born star gained international recognition with England, and made 16 appearances for his country. Banahan made his full England test debut against Argentina in 2009, marking the occasion with a try and a Man of the Match Award. Despite leaving his on-field rugby career behind, Banahan continued his career within the sport as a citing commissioner for the RFU.