'The first four players' to leave Worcester confirmed

Worcester Warriors director of rugby Steve Diamond has confirmed that four players will leave the club on loan as the struggling side battle for survival.

Skipper Ted Hill, England centre Ollie Lawrence, lock Fergus Lee-Warner and Valeriy Morozov are heading to Gallagher Premiership rivals Bath for the next four weeks at least.

Diamond Tweeted: “the first 4 players, Ted, Oli, Val & Ferg go to Bath with our best wishes. 4 tough lads.”

#TOGETHER the first 4 players, Ted,Oli,Val&Ferg go to Bath with our best wishes.
4 tough lads.

— Steve Diamond (@Steve_Dimes) October 2, 2022

“Thank you Bath for helping… players are free spirited. They need to play. I will deal with the mess. Hopefully the boys will come home. Night,” concluded Diamond on Sunday night.

While these are the first four players out the gate, it is likely more will follow suit. Speculation is rampant around British and Irish Lions and Scotland internationals Duhan van der Merwe and Rory Sutherland. A number of French clubs are pursuing Van der Merwe, while Glasgow and Ulster are said to be eager to get Sutherland’s signature on the dotted line.

Yesterday it was revealed that medical insurance was being withheld from players for the time being after the insurers put the club’s policy on hold.

On Friday the club’s owners took swipe at the players and supporters. Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham issued a statement in response to an interview that Hill did with ITV Central, in which he said an apology was required “from not only the owners, but also from other people high up from the company as well”.

Addressing “staff, supporters and community of Worcester Warriors”, the owners 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.

“We are sorry that we did not have the foresight during the pandemic to cut back on the squad budget, but instead remained committed to giving the club the best chance of being competitive.

“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.”

additional reporting PA