Dean Ryan released from contract as Worcester’s director of rugby

Worcester have announced that their rugby director Dean Ryan has left the Premiership club, barely two months before the new season starts.

The Warriors said that Ryan, who has been strongly linked to the vacant top job at Bath, has been released from his contract and “will leave his post immediately�.

Worcester said that their senior management team will now consist of the head coach, Carl Hogg, and the high performance director, Nick Johnston, who will both report to the club chief executive, Jim O’Toole. Hogg will retain responsibility for the first-team squad, with Johnston continuing his work with the academy, medical, sports science and player welfare departments at Sixways.

Worcester, with Ryan at the helm, have made a number of new signings in readiness for next season, including the England squad centre Ben Te’o from Leinster. However, there are suggestions that the 50-year-old Ryan was unhappy with finances made available for Warriors’ playing budget.

Ryan joined Worcester in May 2013, and although the Warriors were relegated a year later, they regained Premiership status at the first attempt and retained a top-flight position last term.

O’Toole said: “We are very sorry to see Dean move on from Sixways. He has been instrumental in developing and putting in place our long-term plan, and we have been delighted with our progress and the momentum we have built up over the last three years.

“Dean has also helped to build a team around him who are ready to step up to the next level and build on that progress. For the first time in Warriors’ history we have an active succession plan which has already kicked in. We are an ambitious club with sights on the top six places in the Premiership and the Champions Cup.�

In a statement announcing Ryan’s exit, the club added: “The Warriors board has committed to a 25% increase in the rugby budget for the 2016-17 season.

“And it is following a long-term strategy based on the development of a solid base of English-qualified players via an annual £500,000 investment in the academy, a £500,000 academy house, a £3.5m investment in top-class facilities and infrastructure and the commitment to spending to the Premiership salary cap to make the current squad as competitive as possible.�