RFU bosses to rule on Birmingham & Solihull Bees’ 11th hour rescue plan
Oct 28 2009 by Andy Walker, Birmingham Post
The RFU Management Committee were set to meet this morning to make a final decision on the future of Birmingham & Solihull Bees.
The cash-strapped club have grown used to preparing for their next D-Day but today should finally mark either the sad end of the Solihull-based outfit or the beginning of a new era.
Bees officials appear to have secured the investment to support a new phoenix firm and have now put their plans for the club forward to the sport’s governing body.
They were left to wait with baited breath for the outcome of this morning’s all-important meeting in London, when the RFU will either rubber-stamp or throw out a proposal that will allow them to remain in English rugby’s second-tier.
There is also still the small matter of an appointment in court with the Inland Revenue today over the non-payment of a near six-figure tax bill, although the club does have plans in place to avoid a compulsory winding-up order.
The majority of Bees officials were last night remaining tight-lipped over the details that have been put forward for today’s crunch meeting, although chairman Brian Marshall appeared to be quietly confident.
“We are waiting for a response from the RFU to the proposals we have put forward involving a new set-up which is being supported by other parties, at a level sufficient to allow the club to go forward in the Championship,” he said.
“The committee deal with a lot but this is top of their agenda at the moment.”
If there is to be a happy ending to the long-running saga surrounding Birmingham & Solihull’s financial struggle, then attention will immediately turn back to the club’s on-the-field fortunes with the visit of Moseley to Sharmans Cross Road on Saturday for the first chapter of this season’s Second City rugby derby.
n Premier Rugby chief executive Mark McCafferty has dismissed Warren Gatland’s criticism of the Guinness Premiership as a “cheap shot”.
The Wales coach, who masterminded three league titles and a Heineken Cup crown during three years as Wasps’ director of rugby, on Monday described the Premiership as the weakest he has seen. But McCafferty pointed to soaring attendance figures as evidence the competition is in rude health.
