Sale Sharks, Worcester Warriors granted conditional offers to be part of Premier 15s 2023/24 season

The Rugby Football Union has handed conditional offers to Sale Sharks and Worcester Warriors to join the 2023/24 season of the Allianz Premier 15s.

Both the clubs were initially omitted from the tender process but RFU feels including Sale would help the game grow north.

Meanwhile, the England board also added that Worcester have recently secured funding to enable them to continue to operate after splitting from the men's team.

“The tender panel made a strong recommendation for the RFU and Women’s Premier 15 Ltd (WP15) to explore how greater geographical spread could be provided in the league,” the RFU said in a statement.

“The RFU and WP15 recognise the need to grow the game in the north of England and acknowledge the challenges faced in the region.

“The RFU has therefore developed a package of support (…), which coupled with a strategy for further investment will allow Sale Sharks to adequately address the feedback from the tender panel.”

A statement from RFU also added that there is potential for clubs to join the league at a later stage.

Earlier in December, English rugby’s governing body had selected eight clubs instead of 10 to participate following a tender process, with four teams Sale, Worcester, Wasps and Darlington Mowden Park Sharks left out.