COVENTRY chairman Jon Sharp is convinced that Wasps’ future, if it has one, lies in the United Rugby Championship, not the RFU Championship.
Wasps said in a statement earlier this week that they had secured “sustainable finance” and a suitable home stadium, adding: “All we are waiting for is a competition to join that will allow us to compete at the highest level – and one that shares our values.”
Sharp says that the existing Championship clubs made it very clear to the RFU at a meeting a few weeks ago that Wasps, or another franchise-style team, would not be welcome in the second-tier without having earned their place on merit.
“Looking at it as a non-partisan person, I read the statement and it said, okay, we’ve funding, we’ve now got a stadium, please send us some money. I thought that was a bit odd. Without knowing more details about the stadium and the funding, I don’t think I would be pledging any money, personally,” Sharp said.
“The more intriguing part of the statement is there at the end – the club is looking at the importance of joining a competition that aligns with its values and aspirations. I think that suggests they are looking at the URC. One of the things we very clearly said to the RFU when we went down there mob-handed a few weeks ago is that we all believe in meritocracy and we do not accept the concept of a franchise where anyone can be shoe-horned into this league without getting there by promotion.
“We further said, as we always do, that promotion at both ends of the Championship is sacrosanct. To change that would undermine all the principles of what English rugby stands for.
“The RFU got that message very clearly and the statement they in turn put out went on to say they will now be looking at a new model for the Championship and will be working with the Championship clubs to achieve that.
“The RFU statement has given Wasps the clue that no we are not going to allow you to be shoehorned back into the Championship even if you meet the Minimum Operating Standards so my guess, and I am pretty certain about this, is that they talking to the URC and they are looking at that route as their way back into the high-er echelons of the game, knowing that the URC do actually want English clubs involved.”
Wasps’ ill-fated move to Coventry never sat well with the city’s true premier club who spent a decade trying to stay relevant to sponsors and media when a Premiership juggernaut was on their doorstep.
Putting the hard facts to one side and talking from an emotional standpoint, Sharp believes it would be morally wrong to allow the former English and European champions to take to the field again until their £95 million debts are repaid in full.
“They are a great rugby club with great history and you can’t take that awa
