Wasps fuel comeback speculation with cryptic 'The Rising has started' post

Wasps have reignited speculation about a return to professional rugby after posting a cryptic message on their official Facebook page on Sunday morning — their first public communication since the death of former player Tom Voyce in December 2024. The post read simply: “The Rising has started. More to come.”

The former six-time English champions and two-time European champions went into administration in October 2022 with debts of £95m, including more than £21m owed to public bodies. The collapse came just one month after fellow Premiership club Worcester Warriors folded, with Wasps making a total of 167 players and staff redundant.

It is not the first time hopes have been raised among the Wasps faithful. In December 2022, HALO22 Limited — a company owned by Christopher Holland — purchased the club’s intellectual property, history and memorabilia. The company later claimed to have satisfied RFU requirements and announced plans to return for the 2023-24 season. A new stadium site was also reportedly purchased in the South East near London, though neither development led to a comeback.

Holland has since turned his attention to Worcester Warriors, who did successfully return to playing in the Rugby Championship and won the competition at their first attempt last season. Worcester suffered their first defeat of the current campaign over the weekend, losing 36-27 at Doncaster.

Current Companies House records show that Wasps Rugby Football Club Ltd has a single director — Derby solicitor James Timothy Dysterre-Clark — a detail that has done little to clarify the club’s intentions and only deepens the intrigue surrounding Sunday’s post.

The announcement, whatever it amounts to, arrives in the wake of London Irish’s own revival story. Last month, Essex-based entrepreneur Steve Daniels’ Gamechanger Investments purchased London Irish’s name, brand and associated intellectual property, with Daniels pledging to return the club to professional rugby as early as next season. Hazelwood, the club’s former training base in Sunbury-on-Thames, is among the options being considered as a new home.

Whether Wasps’ message signals a similarly concrete plan or represents another false dawn remains to be seen, but the post has been enough to set supporters talking again.