Rugby: a new owner & name for Worcester Warriors who will play in the 4^th division

The English club Worcester Warriors, suspended from Premiership Rugby during the 2022-23 season and placed into administration, is merging with Stourbirdge RFC to form "Sixways Rugby" in order to play in the National League 2 West (4^th national division) from 2023-24, announced Atlas Worcester Warriors Rugby Club Limited ("Atlas"), the club's new owner, on 09/02/2023.

The consortium, which acquired the club on 01/02/2023, has therefore withdrawn its bid to compete in the RFU Championship (second division) in 2023-24 as it "cannot agree to RFU conditions and commercial restrictions," according to Jim O'Toole, Atlas director and former CEO of Worcester Warriors.

"We will invest in their semi-professional first team and they will play at Sixways. We will invest significantly to get them through the leagues. The plan will be to reach the Championship by 2026. We hope to be able to call upon former players to come in and help us move through the divisions," added Jim O'Toole.

"We felt that the terms of that contract were over-onerous and represented overreaching on behalf of the RFU in…