Crisis club Worcester are facing oblivion… but are remaining united until the end

As he stood in a corner of the Alma pub in Worcester on Saturday night and pondered his future and his team, Steve Diamond was approached by a loyal Warriors supporter.

“Thanks for everything you’ve done for us,” said the fan, hurling a tray of Jägerbombers onto the table. The drinks didn’t last long and they kept coming.

Was this a party? Or more than the aftermath? Nobody was really quite sure, but it certainly felt like the end of an era and a significant line in the sand for a proud English club.

At 5pm on Monday, Worcester are almost certain to be suspended from all competitions as they are unlikely to be able to meet an RFU deadline to prove they can continue as a viable business.

The cash-strapped Warriors are on the brink of extinction under the guidance of disgraced owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham. Official administration is on the horizon. A thumping win over Newcastle – one fueled by raw emotion – may well have been their last.

As the Worcester staff drank what was left of the beer at their Sixways home, Don McLean’s American Pie played over the loudspeaker system. “This will be the day I die,” McLean sang. As the lyrics go, it couldn’t have been more fitting. Saturday may well have been Worcester’s point of no return. Sipping a lager, director of rugby Diamond could hardly believe the country lay.

“I don’t know how it got to this,” he said. “Out with a bang huh?”

It’s hard to understate the emotional toll Worcester’s situation has had on the club’s players and staff, so Saturday’s post-Newcastle night was a chance to blow off some steam.

On Monday, Warriors caretaker Lee Morrow will start looking for a new place to live as he is about to be evicted from his house at the Sixways site. Diamond’s players will also not be able to train there as the required insurance obligations will not be in place.

Members of Worcester’s staff have already been forced to look at other jobs due to their lack of payment and many have already accepted offers.

Some players could soon follow them out the exit door.

“It’s been mental torture and agony,” Worcester assistant coach and former England No.8 Nick Easter said of the uncertainty surrounding the Warriors since August.

Diamond and Easter poured pints to Worcester fans in the Alma before the staff and Warriors players headed to one of the city’s nightclubs. Sports mail joined the Worcester family for the evening and as the drinks flowed and gallows humor filled the air, it was clear how close a bond the Warriors have.

The first-team squad, including star players Duhan van der Merwe and Ollie Lawrence, mingled with backroom staff who have still not been paid their August wages in full.

Worcester have been using the hashtag ‘together’ on social media and that’s exactly what they are.

The club’s ethos is led by Diamond, who has been its beating heart in extraordinary circumstances.

“People pay a lot of money to try to artificially manufacture mental resilience, but this has happened organically for us,” Easter added. ‘What it has done for the whole community and supporters has actually made everyone very, very tight. It will be forever.’

Easter also had a strong message for the unpopular Goldring and Whittingham, who have long lost the confidence of Worcester’s players, staff and supporters. ‘For people in such a high position, the lack of communication is quite astonishing,’ Easter said matter-of-factly.

That Saturday night felt like a drowning of sorrows for anyone with a passion for Worcester, due entirely to the actions of Goldring and Whittingham. The Warriors are on the verge of bankruptcy and the club’s owners have serious questions to answer. They are nowhere to be seen.

Kim Lannie, a Worcester season ticket holder for 10 years, told Sportsmail: ‘I cannot understand why the owners will not do the honorable thing for the club and put it into administration.

‘I cried when I read about the owners not repaying the loan they took from Cecil Duckworth, but I wasn’t surprised and that’s the worst. I don’t trust anything they say.

‘They’ve been lying to us since they got here. It’s really, really sad.’

Adriano Vazzoler, who has watched Worcester for 25 years, added: ‘The Cecil loan story was the final nail in the coffin for the owners, as far as people in Worcester are confirmed.

“The level of mistrust is unbelievable. We just want them to leave and not set foot in Worcester again – they are not welcome.’

Sportsmail revealed that Goldring and Whittingham borrowed £500,000 from Worcester icon Duckworth in his dying days and have not repaid the debt to his family following his death in 2020.

Worcester fans unleashed their fury on the club’s scorned owners at the Newcastle game. A critical banner was taken away by stewards because it was said to be ‘inappropriate’.

But after that both day and night showed all that is good about Worcester. If they watched, any potential investor would surely have liked what they saw.

On the field, the Diamonds’ men destroyed a dismal Newcastle side 39-5 and scored five tries in a bonus-point win. Outside of that, Worcester’s staff, players and fans welcomed Sportsmail with open arms as the drinks flowed well into the evening and the Warriors’ future was endlessly dissected.

“I’ve been a season ticket holder for 26 years,” said supporter Julian Clarke. ‘I’ve loved it since day one. My father used to come here with me. We drove him into Sixways for his last match when he died of cancer six years ago. This is what this place means to the people of Worcester.’

So what now for everyone connected to Worcester? Uncertainty reigns. Their resources have been so low that the club’s doctors have massaged the players with cooking oil.

Diamond is believed to be hopeful that a takeover will happen in the coming weeks, but in the meantime a playing and staff exodus could well occur. The majority of Worcester’s staff have still only been paid 65 per cent of their August wages and September’s package is unlikely to arrive at all.

Worcester’s financial woes have affected everyone at the club.

“The players want it to work not for themselves but for Worcester as a club,” said Victoria Lewis, flanker Cameron Neild’s girlfriend.

Neild and Lewis moved from Manchester to Worcester for this season, but just a few months later their futures have been thrown into the air.

“Cam loves it in Worcester,” added Lewis. ‘We bought a house in April and like all employees we have a mortgage to pay. It’s really hard when you don’t know what the future holds.

‘Fergus Lee-Warner has moved to Worcester from Australia and his partner has only just arrived. She doesn’t know if they will have to move right back. If I could sum it up in one word, I’d say it’s stressful!’

Lewis and the wives and girlfriends of Worcester’s players gave the team an emotional guard of honor for the Newcastle game and joined them as the party continued late into the night. Worcester’s fans also donated money to increase staff wages. One handed over £200 worth of pub vouchers. Vazzoler also contributed, but said: ‘I don’t want to buy food or drinks on the ground because I don’t know where the money will go.’

Worcester’s supporters gave their staff a standing ovation in the 65th minute as their side galloped to success in what could very well be their last game. Captain Francois Venter was excellent on the pitch and just as good off it. This week he and his teammates are training alone.

Many, including Van der Merwe and Lawrence, will surely become targets for other clubs, although the majority of Worcester’s players want to stay.

They have been impressed by Diamond’s ability to assemble a collective. A vote on whether or not to play Newcastle took place because there were concerns about suffering serious injuries with the club set to be suspended and saddled with a £25m debt, meaning limited medical cover is on space.

Only a handful of players said they weren’t willing to take the risk. “You saw the guys’ true goals and character,” Easter said. “Who knows what happens after this?”

Worcester’s players and staff crowded together at the final whistle and then applauded their loyal supporters. Even the chef was there.

“We don’t know when we’ll be able to do this again,” said the emotional stadium announcer. Then he added hopefully: ‘Worcester Warriors are going to be here for a long time.’

With any luck, that turns out to be the case.