Brad Shields was made redundant last October after the club went into administration. Photo: Reuters/Alan Walter
Brad Shields, former England team owed more than £100,000 after the death of Wasps and criticized the Rugby Union's decision to ban the club from re-entry into the championship.
According to a statement from the club last week, The Wasps have twice asked the union for an extension to secure funding to pay off their creditors.
Fulfilling this commitment would have allowed the Wasps to return to the Championship rather than sink to the bottom of the league pyramid. Unless they are granted a wonderful reprieve of a second-tier franchised spot, the only way to keep the club alive seems to be restarting at a much lower level.
Shields, a former club captain who joined Perpignan in France when the Wasps took over seven months ago, was adamant that the new administration led by Chris Holland could not be blamed for his predicament.
Moreover, he stressed that Holland had done everything possible to meet the «moral obligation» to pay the rugby creditors. Left penniless and bewildered by a process that felt «tough and weird», Shields clarified the human cost of the Wasp's downfall and the unpaid image rights he is now unlikely to get.
«I don't want to go into too much detail , but it's far from a six-figure figure,» said the 32-year-old, who returned to New Zealand with the Hurricanes for next season.
“It's a terrible position after you feel like you've invested so much in the club. I know for a fact that Chris, Robert Dowburn and the two legends of the Os went to great lengths to keep the Os alive and spoke of moral obligations to rugby creditors as part of that. It's just sad that he stopped abruptly.
«The thing that distracts you as a rugby player is playing rugby. I'm lucky I have something. If I didn't, the stress would be tenfold.
«Looking back, obviously f**k, but I'm investing in my own business,» Shields added about Social, a line of hard seltzer that he developed with Josh Bassett, his former Wasps colleague.
“Would I do it if this money didn’t come in? Moving to France was stressful in itself and obviously not cheap. Now we as a family need to take a breath and decide if we want to move on or continue to suffer because of this.
Wasps admitted in a statement last week that rugby creditors' The situation was «troubled» given the confusing list of demands left to the small team by the previous administration. It was stated that these claims, including those of Shields, would now go back to the administrators to file a lawsuit against Wasps Holdings Limited. Shields has yet to be informed of any further steps as to what he is owed.
Wasps also suggested that potential investors at the club are «tired» of the lack of clarity on the future structure of English rugby league. union. Referring to the continued uncertainty at the London Irish, Shields agreed with the sentiment.
“This investment will always be difficult unless there is a direction the Premier League is heading in,” he said.
< p>“If the Premier League is closed, what are the ambitions of the teams in the Championship? Even if there is a promotion playoff, this game could be between two teams with completely different budgets.
“Another question that comes up for me is that if the Wasps are struggling to match these criteria, they ask other Premier League teams? Does the RFU ask every club if they are resilient and able to pay their players? Judging by the appearance of the London Irish, there are also question marks.
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