Efforts to give English top-flight rugby stronger financial foundations will be accelerated in the wake of the crises facing Worcester Warriors and Wasps RFC, the chief executive of Premiership Rugby has said.

The Gallagher Premiership, England’s flagship domestic competition, is in meltdown after the two clubs were suspended amid financial difficulties which threaten their existence.

Worcester were suspended from Premiership action for the rest of this season, with relegation to follow, after the club’s partial liquidation.

Then on Wednesday, Wasps said it was now “likely” they would enter administration, having already withdrawn from this weekend’s Premiership match against Exeter.

It is understood Wasps' only hope of avoiding following Worcester out of the Premiership if they go into administration would rest on them proving a “no fault” solvency event because of the global pandemic.

The crisis has reignited the debate over sustainability at the top level and Premiership Rugby is now examining a range of options to strengthen clubs’ financial resilience, which will include giving consideration to the structure of the league and the visibility of clubs’ financial information.

The organisation’s chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said: “As well as supporting efforts to find a long-term sustainable future for both Wasps and Worcester, it is our responsibility to set a more sustainable path for English club rugby.

“This was on the agenda already, but we need to now accelerate the work we are doing with our clubs, the Rugby Football Union, and other stakeholders across the game.

“Our shared goal must be to put in place stronger foundations that underpin the long-term prosperity for the sport in this country.”

Meanwhile, sports finance expert Kieran Maguire believes that rugby has been reluctant to address football’s commercial dominance in this country.

Maguire, a lecturer from the University of Liverpool Management School, said: “Rugby is still a relatively new professional sport and in many aspects it’s being run in an amateur way in terms of cash flow and cost control and governance, all the dull words that get accountants excited.

“I know rugby fans would be upset about rugby being called a minority sport, but football is too successful. It takes too many of the column inches and too much of the broadcasters’ focus, because it delivers in terms of eyeballs.

“That’s a challenge – how does rugby increase its income streams and control costs? I think there’s a reluctance to address that.”