Anthony Elliott running rugby on the pitch and off at Bees
Whether it’s a quick spin round the supermarket or root and branch restructuring of an entire sporting organisation, everyone loves a good two-for-one offer.
Enter stage left, Anthony Elliott, Birmingham & Solihull’s corporate high-flier off the pitch and flying full back on it. Commercial manager and impact player, two roles for the price of one.
While it’s difficult to imagine Moseley asking Alan Potter to don the No 15 shirt - even on a temporary basis, or Worcester expecting Chris Latham to nip off after training to sort out a brewery deal, such is life at Sharmans Cross Road.
The Black and Gold cloth has to be cut accordingly and – as Russell Earnshaw insists at frequent intervals – the club have drawn a line in the sand and are not straying over it again.
And, with the greatest of respects to Messrs Potter and Latham, not many people have the skillset to do both.
Yet Elliott, who will celebrate his 29th birthday next Tuesday, has been charged with doing just that. Score the tries to keep the club in the Championship and make the deals to keep their bank balance as black as their shirts.
He made his debut in last week’s 42-15 defeat at Rotherham and marked his 40 minute appearance with a try in what was his first game since October.
His on-field contribution is expected to become more and more pronounced as the relegation play-offs get underway, with Earnshaw able to call on an outside backs trio of John Holtby, Simon Hunt and Elliott - all of whom have extensive Premiership experience.
With Will Lawson and Cameron Mitchell making in-roads through the centres and carrying a licence to chance their arms, the former Newcastle, Sale and Bristol threequarter could be in for a fruitful time.
And after spending the first month of his tenure in Solihull immersing himself in the minutiae of the community foundation Bees hope to set up at Damson Parkway and trying to attract sponsors, he can’t wait.
“If I am totally honest I am going to start having a bit of a shift and put more of my focus into the playing side again,” Elliott says.
