WORCESTER Warriors fans remain optimistic their beloved team will make its long-awaited return next year as a decision on its future looms.

Warriors fans may have just two more weeks to wait to discover whether the club's long exile from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) following its collapse will end. 

It has been four months since Junction 6 Limited, led by Wasps owner Chris Holland, took over the club and announced its plan to return elite-level rugby to Sixways. 

Marcus Mulcahy, chairman of the Worcester Warriors Supporters Trust, said the work the new ownership has put in meant he was confident everything would be in place to bring the Warriors back- provided the RFU's new Tier 2 board accepted their application to join.

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Mr Mulcahy said the club has effectively applied to join the RFU's mooted new Tier 2 competition and is waiting to find out if it will be able to join for the 2025/26 season.

The RFU has committed to ensuring the mechanism for any new teams entering the league, and any major changes to the leagues, for the 2025-26 campaign will be decided and announced ahead of the new season, which begins on Saturday, September 7. 

This means the RFU should announce its decision on Warriors joining by September 6- a deadline Mr Mulcahy fears it will miss based off conversations he has had with the organisation.

Mr Mulcahy said the club would need to know by December if it had a place in the league so it could begin to build a competitive team.

He added: "The league will be so much more attractive in terms of viewership and to commercial sponsors with the Warriors part of it.

“It’s all really positive what’s happening at the club. 

"There is lots going on at Sixways, the new owners have employed more staff and the stadium is doing well financially so they have turned that business around and staff morale is really high. 

"The communication between the trust and the club is really good, it's a bit frustrating things haven't moved on as quickly as we'd hoped with the RFU but I remain optimistic we will have a team next year."

Mr Mulcahy added weekends haven't been the same since the Warriors originally collapsed in 2022 and felt that it was hugely important for the city for the club to return.

We contacted Worcester Warriors and the RFU for comment but haven't received a reply as we went to press.