London Irish players and staff receive April pay after delay

After a delay in which London Irish players and staff were not paid wages for April, it has been now confirmed that payment has been made as the club moves through a takeover from an American consortium.

The London Irish squad were ready to hand in the legal letters before a 4.45pm deadline when they were called to a meeting and Mick Crossan, who has owned the club since 2013, said he would cover the unpaid wages for April.

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."

London Irish had been waiting for funds to arrive from their prospective buyers in the United States, who had stepped in to cover the club’s March payroll.

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."