After a delay in which London Irish's players and staff were not paid wages for April, Thursday evening brought belated confirmation the Gallagher Premiership club had now made payments; Head coach Declan Kidney had earlier confirmed on Thursday morning that no payments had been received
Thursday 4 May 2023 18:19, UK
London Irish players and staff have now been paid their April wages following a delay as the club moves through a takeover from an American consortium.
Players were originally told that they would be paid on Tuesday but were still awaiting payment on Thursday morning.
However, payment then went through on Thursday afternoon.
Earlier on Thursday head coach Declan Kidney admitted a "sensitive" situation was ongoing at the club but they had received "assurances" payment should arrive this week.
"I'm just telling you know what I know," Kidney said.
"Sensitive negotiations are going on at the moment. Pay day has ended up in the middle of that.
"No employee has been paid yet but we've given a lot of assurances from the prospective ownership that will happen over the coming days."
Kidney previously confirmed all insurance premiums had been covered, removing one roadblock to the weekend's final day Premiership clash vs Exeter taking place.
At the end of a season that has seen Worcester and Wasps go bust, while worried, Kidney said he has been overwhelmed by the commitment his squad have shown under adversity.
"Obviously there are concerns around it, but they're not in our control," he said.
"We're not the first company to have delayed payments in terms of our salaries but we can only control what we can control. You can draw too many comparisons between us and other teams but I think it would be wrong to do that.
"I can't speak highly enough of the quality of players I've been working with, in terms of application and positiveness.
"These lads are about way more than money. They are just the salt of the earth, fantastic people to work with. Nobody is looking for their hand to be held, everybody is looking forward to getting on with the job.
"All I can say is what happened to date, I cannot guess the future but I can say for certain the quality of people here is so strong. We entrust in the owners and prospective owners will come to a positive resolution here."
London Irish captain Matt Rogerson echoed Kidney's sentiments regarding the mindset of the group heading into the Exeter game, but admitted the match is slightly tainted with such issues "looming" over it.
"It has been a strange week and something that we wouldn't usually face. It has been an unusual scenario but the lads have remained on task and prepped for this game like we would any other game," said Rogerson.
"Hopefully we'll be paid before that game and that's the mindset we're in at the moment.
"It's some guys' last games and it's a shame this is looming over it, but you still have to prep as if that is going ahead and that's what we've done."
He also believes the situation has a wider impact for rugby union and its "financial constraints".
"It feels like we're at a bit of a crossroads for the sport," added Rogerson.
"Those shackles of financial constraints need to be released to grow the game and the hype and the fanbase.
"It's a very tricky place to be in because if you release those shackles you open yourself up to casualties along the way."
