 Worcester's promotion celebrations may have been premature |
Worcester's place in the Zurich Premiership has been confirmed by English rugby chiefs. The National League One champions will replace relegated Rotherham in the top flight next term.
Their promotion, after meeting all Premiership entry criteria, was ratified by the board of England Rugby Limited following a meeting.
A final decision had been delayed while ERL sought advice following the threat of a legal challenge from Rotherham.
Rotherham have claimed that Worcester failed to meet a 31 March deadline for satisfying Premiership criteria.
But the ambitious Midlands club, who are backed by multi-millionaire Cecil Duckworth, can now look forward to rubbing shoulders with the English elite.
However, the chairman was left fuming by Rotherham's bid to thwart their promotion.
"Obviously, this is very good news, although we did not anticipate any other conclusion, but it is a great relief to everybody who has been involved to receive this confirmation," he said.
"Naturally, we did not anticipate a legal challenge from Rotherham which, in my view, was extremely disappointing, especially coming from a club which has clearly failed in the Premiership.
"Objecting to ourselves being promoted, having won 26 games out of 26 and having done everything possible to meet the entry criteria, has been difficult to understand.
"The players have had a very difficult week, which they do not deserve, but we are now back on track and hopefully this has not caused us any undue damage."
MMIX
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