Last week saw another nail pinned into the coffins of Worcester, Wasps and London Irish as the RFU announced a funding withdrawal from their phoenix academies.
The RFU hastily injected funds into the academies of the three administrated clubs, with Midlands West replacing Worcester and Midlands Central replacing Wasps in November 2022. London South Central were formed in June 2023 after London Irish’s demise.
However, a letter from the RFU’s executive director of performance rugby Conor O’Shea and Premiership Rugby’s director Phil Winstanley revealed the academies will revert back to ‘aligning’ with the Premiership structure, with the 10 professional clubs continuing to run their own academies.
The RFU will, however, continue to fund the Yorkshire Academy in an effort to maintain Northern representation.
In Worcester and Wasps’ absence, the Midlands takes the biggest hit. Boundaries will be redrawn to ensure players are in the catchment of one of the 11 remaining academies, but there will be significantly fewer players experiencing elite rugby going forward.
In February’s U18s Academies finals day, Midlands West finished sixth in the then 14-team league, whilst London South Central, who had won the league the year before when still London Irish, beat Midlands Central in the ninth placed play-off.
Below them were Harlequins, Gloucester, and Newcastle, so with the former two likely to expand their boundaries into London Irish and Wasps/ Worcester’s old catchments they could benefit.
For many academy players, their natural progression sees them move onto university rugby, with BUCS Super Rugby continuing to flourish. This week Swansea beat Newcastle 40-17 in the relegation play-off to secure a fourth season in the top league despite a difficult season that saw them pick up just three victories. For Newcastle, it’s a sixth year of pain.
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