Over your window you think I'm confused
I'm waiting for the divergent wasp
Yes, I am the fly in the ointment
I shake you down to say please
As you accept the next dose of disease
I Am The Fly - Wire
I've never really understood the propensity for a good number of Cov supporters to attack anything and everything connected with Wasps RFC.
For many, from the onset Wasps' arrival in Coventry back in 2014 met with at best antipathy and, at its worst, a complete denigration of the club and its supporters.
During the eight years the club was based at the Ricoh as was, I never felt the Premiership outfit had anything approaching a negative impact on Coventry Rugby nor have I seen any evidence that this was indeed the case.
(At this point I should add that I'm not at Coventrian either by birth or residence, so perhaps I just don't have the same degree of fervour).
However, there have been plenty of Cov supporters who have claimed that to be the case over the years for sure, citing amongst other things a fall in attendances at the BPA, a squeeze on the amount of local talent available to Cov as a result of Wasps own academy and a lack of local media coverage due to a near total preoccupation with all things Prem.
I'm more than happy to be the fly in the ointment here...
I'm not sure any of this is fair criticism and certainly if it is, the impact it might have had has been near negligible.
Some supporters have even refused to refer to Wasps by name, referencing them as 'the cuckoos in the nest', or 'W!sps' or worse in a completely irrational response to their presence in the city. It's puerile and hardly the mature response of a group of supporters who know exactly what it's like to support a club that's been on the verge of extinction itself.
It's not a good look for either the supporters or Cov Rugby. Those involved in the game at all levels frequently talk of the 'rugby family' and regularly make mention of the sport's core values that include respect, team work and enjoyment.
Sadly some of us pay lip service to them though.
Why Wasps supporters have had so much animosity meted out towards them in the past is, to me, unclear and totally undeserved. If you say derogatory things about the club, rather than those responsible for its financial mismanagement specifically, then you're aiming criticism at everyone, players, coaches and supporters too and that is blatantly inappropriate.
Cov Rugby's statement at the time exemplified what Wasps' situation should mean to those connected to the sport:
(the club is) deeply saddened to hear the recent news regarding our neighbors, Wasps. Above everything, we believe rugby to be a family – and having shared a city, our hearts go out to all of their players, staff, commercial partners, and supporters during this unimaginable time.
Sadly that wasn't the case for everyone, and still doesn't appear to be almost a year to the day later.
There was plenty of a-whooping and a-hollering within some elements of the Cov fan base when it became clear that Wasps' long-rumoured financial difficulties were confirmed last year. The club initially was forced to call in the receivers and then had its license refused by the RFU, forcing the prospect of having to start again back in tier 10 of the English pyramid structure.
Those in charge of Wasps during the last 10 years, particularly those who had full knowledge of the club's financial failings, deserve nothing but contempt and if laws were broken then individuals of course should be held accountable and due process should ensue.
However, the fans of the club, a club with a history that goes back to 1866 no less, don't deserve to be tarred with the same brush, yet that still is happening in some quarters. For many, the move from Sudbury to Milton Keynes and then Coventry must have been a bitter blow and I'm sure some will have been forced to become just armchair supporters given the problems of traveling such distances. For others though, especially when the club moved to Coventry, Wasps offered the opportunity for a new audience. Fans of the game were now able to watch Premiership rugby on their own doorstep.
And if that did mean some Coventry supporters hopped across the city from the BPA to The Ricoh, then who can blame them for so doing? If rugby is your passion, rather than Cov Rugby, then why not?
If anything, though, because Wasps presence raised the profile of the sport within the city, Coventry's attendances rose too, so any loss of Cov support was more than made up for by Cov's own successes on and off the pitch .
The recent statement on Wasps' still functioning website suggests that the club is confident that it will make a return to 'rugby at the highest level' - a return that should be welcomed by the rugby community as a whole, including Cov supporters.
But that comes with a caveat. Before any return is allowed, any creditors owed money by the club before its initial demise should be repaid in full. Many companies/organisations were owed vast sums of money when Wasps folded with debts of £96,000,000:
Signage company Moseley Signs - who recently removed Wasps' logo from the Arena - were owed more than £92,000;
Coventry City Council took another hit as a result of Tom White Waste, which is owned by the local authority, suffering a loss of £11,336;
Surrey-based Compass, which previously supplied catering and events support to the stadium, lost £7.6m, while Delaware North, who had taken over from Compass were owed £4.5m.
It's not enough to simply wipe the slate clean and start again. And even though I stand by my desire to be fair to, and respectful of, the many thousands of Wasps' fans who were left devastated by the demise of the the club, I don't think either, it, or Worcester or London Irish should be welcomed back into the fold that is professional rugby if and when Prem 2 becomes a reality.
At a time when all three clubs were spending money they didn't have, the rules were clear to everyone and precedents had already been set. If they are to rise phoenix-like from the ashes then they must do it the hard way, from the bottom of the pyramid as amateur clubs, a la Richmond and London Welsh.
But this won't happen. No way.
I'm guessing deals have already been done. The RFU is only too aware of the marketing power of the likes of Wasps in particular and it will want all three back into the professional leagues once the Championship is restructured in the next season or two.
It's wrong and palpably unfair on those Championship clubs who will fail to make the cut if Premiership 2 is reduced to just 10 teams. But when did fairness become of any import to the RFU when considering the integrity of rugby's second tier?
Wasps' statement left me feeling as if little has changed in terms of the Board's arrogance and lack of understanding of how the club might be perceived by those outside of the club itself. There's no sense of any contrition, of wanting to get things right - it's all about an urgency to return to the highest level as quickly as possible - to jump the queue irrespective of eligibility.
It's almost as if those currently responsible for the club's future pathway feel a sense of aggrievement...'you will know...the difficulties we faced on funding and acceptance to enter the Championship, and our removal from that process'. It comes across as arrogant on their part considering the level of debt incurred prior to being forced into receivership. Why any individual or business might have wanted to invest in the club at that point seemed absurd at the time and still does now.
It pains me to say it, but not only on the basis of this latest statement but also on what I've seen and read of Chris Holland in the weeks and months since the RFU's refusal to include Wasps in this season's Championship campaign, the Wasps CEO does appear to believe the club has some sort of divine right to be still sitting at the top table alongside the likes Leicester, Saracens and the like.
It doesn't.
Many of their supporters, certainly the ones who have come along to some of the Cov games in the last few months, accept that Wasps should face a hefty punishment for its financial ineptitude. An absence of twelve months and relegation to Pre 2 just wouldn't be sufficient.
Whilst the club's supporters deserve far better, they were badly let down by the Board and sadly Wasps need to be held to account as well as made an example of. A modern day version of Admiral John Byng's execution.
A 'pour encourager les autres' moment.
The game is currently facing an existential crisis and if clubs see Wasps appearing to get away with little more than a 12 month ban and a relegation to the league below (at the expense of clubs who are well run, financially prudent and far more community active), then it might encourage others to cut corners.
If the RFU released a statement immediately to say that Wasps, Worcester and London Irish will be required to join tier 10 of the pyramid league as and when they have fulfilled all the legal and regulatory requirements to do so, there would be no further uncertainty and proposed structural changes to the professional game could be made without the shadow of the three clubs looming large.
It won't, of course, because it doesn't have the leaders in situ to take such a bold and resolute step.
Whatever happens though, it's the supporters of the three clubs concerned that I have most sympathy for...tough times for them and I can only wish them well and hope that their love of the game remains whatever happens to their clubs.
When Jersey ceased trading just a few weeks ago, it looked as if the trip to the Channel Isle would become little more than a long weekend away with the family. And whilst that was always going to be something to be appreciated, it's a costly way of enjoying a family get together.
Fair play to Coventry Rugby though. I'd fully expected them to pull out of the visit. However, Cov has decided to make the journey, appreciating that a good number of fans will have booked flights and hotel accommodation well in advance.
In homage to the loyalty shown by the club's traveling supporters Alex Rae and the coaches are opening up a training session to supporters, as well as offering masterclasses to local minis and juniors of Jersey RFC.
I mentioned earlier about the family ethos the game is famed for generating and Cov's response to Jersey's travails is the perfect example of that. One club looking out for another.
There's also an opportunity to watch Jersey's amateur side play in the afternoon and Cov is donating all proceeds from The Food Heroes Food Truck to Jersey Rugby Football Club - I'm sure I'll be making a contribution of sorts given the my son/grandson's proclivity for their burgers and chips...
Cov's support for Jersey Reds in its hour of need is the antithesis of some Cov supporters' reaction to Wasps situation back in October '22 and beyond. Whilst there might well be individuals who need to be held accountable within the club for their actions, its fans, players, coaches and administrators for the most part deserve our support as we relied on the help and support of outsiders when Cov was close, very close, to ceasing to exist back in the late 90's and again in the late 00's.
I'm proud to follow a club that upholds the values and traditions that the game represents...
Long may it do so.
wasps even owed the Sky Blues £650k too all very sad, I support all forms of sport in the City unfortunately a lot of sports venues and entertainment no longer with us always liked watching Warwicks ccc at Courtaulds and later Binley Rd, dog racing Lockhurst Lane, speedway and banger racing Brandon, and for few years Basketball team Cov Crusaders were very good down sports centre folded 2011,ice hockey team doing well though, can see from Sky Blue perspective the complete dislike for Wasps ie wrecked pitch before last season started.
all water under the bridge now, so you off to Jersey they were a really nice club again with club folding its the fans that suffer unfortunately.
Jersey RoyalsFC…