THE government must take a tough approach to clawing back taxpayers’ money loaned to rugby union teams and other sports clubs during the Covid-19 pandemic, a select committee report has said.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) loaned £474 million in total to 120 organisations in the sport and culture sectors to help them survive the impact of the pandemic, with £123.8m of that loaned to Premiership Rugby clubs.

DCMS admitted in a National Audit Office report issued last December that it did not expect to recover up to £29m of the £41.6m it had loaned to three Premiership clubs – London Irish, Wasps and Worcester – after they became insolvent.