The Premiership was cut from 13 clubs to 10 in the space of one season as Worcester Warriors, London Irish and Wasps all buckled under financial strain.
Wasps were once a powerhouse of English rugby, winning seven trophies in a glorious six-season spell from 2002 to 2008 with players including England World Cup winners Lawrence Dallaglio, Josh Lewsey and Joe Worsley.
The club claimed three consecutive Premiership titles between 2003 and 2005, achieving a league and European Champions Cup double in 2003-04.
Originally a north-west London club based in Sudbury, they shared Queens Park Rangers’ home at Loftus Road, Shepherds Bush from 1996 to 2002, when they moved to groundshare with Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park.
In 2014, the club then relocated to the Midlands, quickly becoming ground owners at the Ricoh Arena – and landlords to Coventry City, the club for whom the stadium was built.
Wasps were suspended in October 2022 before going into administration a week later and making 167 players and staff redundant.
Worcester’s vacated Sixways had been an option for Wasps to return to playing competitive rugby but in October 2023 Holland said the owners were determined to return the club to the south east.
