Storm clouds hang over Premiership with clubs facing uncertain future

The first-floor concourse in the west stand at Twickenham has clearly not been swept for a while. The local pigeons have spent the summer roosting overhead and, outside the shuttered Thirst bar, significant heaps of grey-white droppings are piling up. Sadly, it is not even close to being the biggest mess in English rugby, with a steady torrent of toxic news still pounding down on poor, cash-starved Worcester.

Watching things go pear-shaped in a proud Premiership heartland is not how anyone wants to commence a shiny new rugby union season. Which is a crying shame in itself. It would have been lovely to have spent more time discussing rugby at Thursday’s season launch: whether Leicester can win back-to-back titles, whether Bath will finally escape the trough of despair or whether some of the league’s precocious young talent can kick on again.

But that would be to ignore the onrushing financial bull elephant in the room. The Guardian has spoken to several sources who say almost half of the 13 Premiership clubs are either heavily in debt or have an owner who is potentially in danger of losing faith. The curse of Covid has accelerated the situation but it has also exposed problems that have existed for ages.

Sometimes it feels as if club rugby has been under the cosh for almost as long as Steve Wright has been hosting his afternoon show on BBC radio. And the factoids are getting worse. Did you know that Worcester are over £20m in debt? Or that energy bills at every club stadium are looking set to quadruple?

Everything is relative, of course. Those of us old enough to remember what it was like in the Premiership’s earliest days, with mismatches commonplace and crowds often modest, can confirm the product is as competitive and