Ex-Worcester boss Steve Diamond tweets 'shafted' 37-word RIP message

Former Worcester director of rugby Steve Diamond has tweeted a negative 37-word verdict about the decision on Thursday to rebrand the Warriors as Sixways Rugby, a club that won’t take part in the 2023/24 Championship in England.

Ex-Sale boss Diamond was at the helm when Worcester financially collapsed earlier this season under their previous owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham. They managed to play three Gallagher Premiership matches in September before the club was suspended by the RFU and liquidated soon after.

Diamond was part of a new Sixways Village company involving his long-time friend Mike Blood and ex-Leicester CEO Simon Cohen as non-executive directors that had hoped to get the go-ahead to rescue Worcester from administration. However, Begbies Traynor Group instead struck a February 1 deal with the Atlas group headed up by James Sandford and Jim O’Toole.

Finn Russell – Calcutta Cup hero on his words with Owen Farrell | England v Scotland | Offload Ep 63

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That takeover, though, hasn’t resulted in the resurrection of Worcester. Set a February 14 deadline by the RFU to provide evidence they can meet the relevant conditions to participate in next season’s Championship, the Warriors will instead merge with fourth-tier side Stourbridge and build their way up from there.

Club director O’Toole claimed there were a number of key clauses in the RFU contract that his consortium couldn’t sign and it has resulted in the Worcester Warriors name disappearing and a rebranding to Sixways Rugby.

It’s a development that hasn’t sat well with Diamond, who claimed in a social media post that staff, players and suppliers had been shafted by what has unfolded. He tweeted: “#Together Goodbye Warriors. My thoughts: RIP Worcester Warriors. RIP Duckworth legacy. RIP Warriors supporters. RIP Rugby Creditors, RIP Stourbridge RFC. RIP Elite Rugby. The Staff, Players and suppliers have been shafted. ‘Frying pan into’ rings a bell.”

Ted Hill, the Bath back-rower who was the Worcester skipper when the club collapsed, separately tweeted: “Terrible news coming out of Worcester today regarding Worcester Warriors. Not only for staff and players who are still owed substantial amounts of money but also for the fans who have lost their team. Lots of memories and fun times had!”