Worcester's players and staff plead for owners to find solution

‘We need answers’: Worcester Warriors fly-half Fin Smith leads an emotional appeal from his desperate team-mates after their wages weren’t paid – leaving at least one player HOMELESS while the club face a winding up order days before the new season

• Worcester’s owners told employees they would receive monthly salaries soon 
• As of Friday morning, players and staff have still not received their salaries 
• Players and staff have taken to social media to plead with the club’s owners
• Fin Smith has led the emotional appeal insisting that employees ‘need answers’ 

Worcester’s embattled players and staff – who have still not been paid – have pleaded for the club’s owners to find a solution to its financial misery in a series of emotional social media posts.

The cash-strapped Gallagher Premiership side have £25million in debts. Owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham told the club’s employees on Wednesday they would soon receive their monthly salaries for August but as of Friday morning, that had still not happened.

It left the players and staff at the Warriors with no option other than to take matters into their own hands with a co-ordinated Twitter campaign.

Worcester players and staff including Fin Smith (pictured left) have pleaded with the club’s owners to find a solution to their financial misery, with Ollie Wynn (right) revealing that he has been made homeless by the Warriors’ current plight

‘We’re really frustrated now. We haven’t been paid and don’t feel like we’re getting what we deserve as a group. We need answers,’ said Worcester fly-half Fin Smith.

Young back Ollie Wynn also revealed he had been made homeless by the plight of the Warriors.

A property owned by Worcester which housed a number of the club’s academy players was repossessed last month after mortgage payments were not paid.

‘Worcester means a lot to me as ever since I was a child looking up to my dad, I’ve always wanted to play rugby. Fortunately, I signed a contract three years ago with Worcester,’ Wynn said.

‘I’ve been here since. I’ve loved every minute of being here but unfortunately the last three weeks have taken a turn. We haven’t been paid and I’ve been made homeless recently.

‘Fortunately for me, one of the older boys has put me up in their house which I’m so grateful for. It just shows how tight we are as a unit. Hopefully we can come through this together.’

At Thursday’s Premiership launch, the league’s authorities were adamant Worcester would begin the new season when it begins next weekend.

That’s despite the fact they face a winding-up court hearing with HM Revenue & Customs demanding a full payment of a £6m tax bill.

Worcester’s England centre Ollie Lawrence said: ‘I’ve been part of the Warriors family since the age of 14. Like many, this is now our home.

Worcester Warriors have told their players they will receive their August wages in full 

‘I wouldn’t be the player I am today without the opportunities given to me at this club. I just really hope the right decisions are made from the people above to allow this club to have a future.’

Worcester captain Ted Hill said: ‘It’s my home, my home club. I’ve grown up here. It’s such a shame to see what’s happening at the club, not just for the players, but for the staff and supporters.

‘The support is the most passionate I’ve seen. It will be such a shame to see this get wasted. I’m hoping the right thing can be done.’

Warriors centre and Wales cap Owen Williams added: ‘We’ve only been here a year but the way the players, fans and staff have welcomed me and my wife makes it feel like a lot longer.

‘It’s a great club with great history and fantastic facilities.

Captain Ted Hill said it would be a shame if the fan’s passion for the club is wasted

‘We’re expecting our first child in the new year and we just want our boy to watch me run out at Sixways and hopefully move the club forward in the next few years.’

Worcester’s players have now lost complete faith in Goldring and Whittingham and many have submitted breach-of-contract letters to the club because their salaries have not arrived.

The scale of the financial chaos at Sixways means Worcester are struggling to even afford supplies such as kit and tape as well as transport for their Premiership opener at London Irish a week on Saturday. It means change at the top is needed and needed quickly.

Former Worcester chief executive Jim O’Toole is leading a consortium hoping to succeed Goldring and Whittingham as owners of the club.

Worcester are struggling to afford supplies as well as transport for their Premiership opener at London Irish a week on Saturday 

‘I’ve only been here six months, but I should have been here six years. What a great club. Let’s hope we can continue,’ said Worcester director of rugby Steve Diamond.

Experienced flanker Matt Kvesic added: ‘I owe a lot to the club and it’s very, very sad and upsetting to see the situation it’s in not just for me and my family, but for the rest of the boys in the squad and everyone who works tirelessly here as well as the wider community and the fans.

‘Hopefully the right thing can be done.’

Worcester’s players and staff have acted with admirable dignity and patience in the face of adversity with their social media campaign using the hashtag #together.

Staff continue to travel from as far afield as Wales and Scotland to work at the club each day despite not receiving any payment for doing so.

In an emotional Twitter post, Worcester analyst Simon Norris said: ‘I came to Worcester because after a great experience at Exeter and Bristol, I felt like I could help make a difference.

‘I’m still fully committed to that. Even though staff and players aren’t getting paid, I’m still driving all the way from Wales and giving 110 per cent for the club.

‘Not many people know this but during last season I had a cancer scare. I got through it and it was pretty emotional.

‘Nobody knew. I kept it a secret and kept coming to work because I love the game of rugby and want to make a difference in whatever team I work in. It’s pretty emotional.

‘Players put their body on the line every week, they just want to get paid.

‘Staff are 110 per cent committed to this club, they put in so much time and effort – way above what they get paid for.

‘We just want this club to work and for everyone to pull together from the top to the bottom to make it happen.’

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