Related items

• London Irish face suspension from Premiership as deadline looms

  London Irish are expected to be suspended from the Gallagher Premiership on Tuesday when the deadline to prove they have the finances needed to operate next season expires.

  Irish have until 4pm to either complete a proposed takeover by an American consortium or for owner Mick Crossan to commit to the club for the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign.

  As of Monday, the buyout was no closer to being finalised with key documentation including proof of funds yet to be supplied to the Rugby Football Union, while Crossan is intent on severing ties.

  Only 50 per cent of the staff payroll for May was paid and the outstanding wages must also be settled if Irish are to take their place in next season’s Premiership.

  It was Crossan’s failure to pay the salaries in full last week that persuaded the RFU to extend the deadline by six days in the hope that staff and players would get the money owed to them.

  Irish’s outlook deteriorated further on Friday when they were issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs over an unpaid tax bill.

  Petitions have been filed against London Irish Holdings Limited and London Irish Rugby Football Ground Limited.

  The demise of the Exiles, who finished the Premiership in fifth place, would conclude the darkest season in the history of the English club game after Wasps and Worcester folded because of their own financial difficulties.

  Wasps have been demoted to the foot of the rugby pyramid after their new owners failed to secure the funding needed to relaunch in the Championship, while Worcester have gone quiet on their plan of rebuilding from the fifth tier.

  Irish have debts in the region of £30million and do not own their own stadium, instead playing at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium after a 20-year spell at Reading’s Madejski Stadium.

  Bill Sweeney and Simon Massie-Taylor, chief executives of the RFU and Premiership Rugby respectively, were accused by MPs of presiding over a “failure on an epic scale” following the collapse of Wasps and Worcester, but Irish have been given every opportunity to secure their future.

  The governing bodies have been forced to weigh the desire to see the Exiles survive with the need to put plans in place for next season, with the reduction of clubs from 13 to 10 requiring a different league structure.

  If a third club is lost, the bleak financial climate of the Premiership in the post-Covid era will be highlighted once again with teams able to operate through the funding of benefactors.

• Josh Griffin hat-trick helps Hull come from behind to beat Warrington

  A Josh Griffin hat-trick denied Warrington the chance to go back to the top of the Betfred Super League table as they were beaten 30-18 in a tight clash by Hull.

  A thrilling final match at Magic Weekend saw Wolves open well, but Hull’s stellar start to the second half which saw them score three tries in 11 minutes turned the game around.

  It was a missed opportunity for Warrington, who now sit just behind Catalans Dragons in the table, while Hull continued their good run as they made it four wins in their last five league games.

  A persistent spell of pressure inside the Hull 10 metre area saw Warrington draw first blood just three minutes in. A neat high kick from George Williams was held by Connor Wrench and the winger was able to reach over the line to ground the ball, with Stefan Ratchford adding the extras.

  The Wolves’ speed on the attack was rewarded in the 12th minute when Williams pounced on a loose pass, scooping the ball up and sprinting to touch down between the posts.

  Hull continued to battle and a great move saw Tex Hoy kick across goal, the ball parried down for Danny Houghton to latch on to in mid-air to cross before Jake Clifford converted.

  Matt Dufty regained possession for Warrington with an excellent run from a Hull kick, but the Wolves were kept at bay by a solid Hull defence, who made some great last-ditch blocks on their own try-line.

  The Black and Whites were unable to make the most of some good chances in the final minutes of the first half, but they were straight on the attack after the restart and nearly had a try through Griffin, who fell just short.

  Their energetic start saw Hull score again in the 43rd minute when Clifford’s grubber-kick was chased down by Adam Swift on the wing and he did well to hang on to the ball to cross in the left corner.

  The tries began to flow as Hull added another two minutes later after an excellent move saw Griffin find a gap to cut in from the left and go over, giving Hull the lead for the first time in the game.

  The second rower then struck again in the 51st minute, getting on the end of Jake Truman’s cross-field kick and spinning around to touch down.

  Warrington responded five minutes later with a good string of passes towards the right and Wrench made no mistake charging forward to ground in the corner for his second try of the game.

  Griffin completed his hat-trick following a fine team move which saw Hoy break forward from a Warrington kick to reach the halfway line before offloading to Swift, who found Griffin and he powered over.

  Hull’s defence continued to show resilience on the try-line to deny Warrington in the final 10 minutes before Hoy added a fifth try for the Black and Whites, bursting through the Warrington defence to seal victory.

• Tommy Makinson scores four tries as St Helens coast past Huddersfield

  Tommy Makinson contributed 28 points as St Helens showed signs of shaping up for their customary Betfred Super League title push with an emphatic 48-6 win over Huddersfield Giants in Newcastle.

  Saints’ quest for a fifth straight crown may have been slow to click into gear since their sapping pre-season trip Down Under to win the prestigious World Club Challenge over Penrith Panthers.

  But bolstered by the brilliant Makinson, who crossed four times and added six conversions, Paul Wellens’ men turned on the style in the second half to ultimately coast to victory against the below-par Giants.

  It was a performance far removed from the inconsistencies that have blighted their campaign so far, illustrated by indiscipline in their Challenge Cup win over Halifax, and errors that almost cost them in last week’s dramatic golden point win at Leeds.

  Saints did take some time to click into gear, but they turned a 10-point half-time advantage into a nine-try romp to simply flatten Ian Watson’s strugglers, who had set out in the opening 10 minutes with plenty of intent.

  The Giants have singularly failed to live up to their own pre-season expectations this season and may have harboured a glimmer of hope of a change in fortunes themselves after Kevin Naiqama put them in front on six minutes.

  The Fijian star reacted fastest to flop onto Tui Lolohea’s clever kick once it narrowly eluded his team-mate Jake Bibby, and Jake Connor kicked the conversion.

  But Saints responded swiftly when Jack Welsby sent Konrad Hurrell zeroing in on the diagonal to haul them back within two points, and from the moment Welsby sent Mark Percival scurrying over against the run of play with 20 minutes gone, there only looked to be one winner.

  The Giants’ cause was not helped by a yellow card for Luke Yates for diving in late on Makinson, and Makinson responded by lurching into the corner off a long Welsby pass to extend his side’s lead just past the half-hour mark.

  If Huddersfield still felt in with a shout trailing 16-6 at half-time, it was swiftly extinguished when Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook bustled over from Dodd’s inside ball within five minutes of the restart.

  The Londoner’s effort opened the floodgates, as Makinson crossed for his second off a neat pass from Lomax, moments after having been denied an almost identical try for a questionable forward pass.

  Hurrell went over and Makinson completed his hat-trick – all down the over-exploited right flank – as Saints went through the gears and extended their lead to over 30.

  The one-man show continued as he crossed for his fourth off a Jonny Lomax pass with 12 minutes left on the clock, then his delicious backhand pass sent Joey Lussick galloping over before the 31-year-old fittingly rounded off the rout by arrowing over his sixth conversion from the touchline.