London Irish failure to pay players and staff sparks questions from RFU

The Rugby Football Union is seeking answers from London Irish over their failure to pay players and staff on time amid fears the Exiles could be the latest Premiership club to collapse.

Players and staff were told at the back end of last week that wages would be late but were expected to arrive on Monday, only for a further delay to take place. Club insiders sought to play down the delay, citing the bank holiday as a contributing factor, but there were also concerns over March’s wages before the US consortium seeking to invest in the club footed the bill. “The RFU has contacted London Irish to seek reassurance that staff and players will receive wages imminently,” read a brief statement.

It is a concerning development because missed payrolls foreshadowed the demise of Worcester while promises of imminent investment that never materialised were frequent occurrences for the Warriors and for Wasps, both of whom went bust earlier this season.

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The London Irish owner, Mick Crossan, has long since been seeking investment with the club saddled by debts of more than £30m. The situation is different to Wasps and Worcester insofar as Irish do not have HMRC chasing them but fears over their financial predicament have followed them all season. US investment has been mooted for almost as long but is yet to be finalised.

The RFU would need to conduct strict due diligence on any takeover after the union was skewered by MPs as part of a digital, culture, media and sport select committee hearing into the collapses of Wasps and Worcester. The investors, therefore, would have to pass the RFU’s fit and proper