Coventry Rugby: future still uncertain

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) yesterday met with Coventry President and former England fullback Peter Rossborough at Twickenham Stadium about the future of the club and Championship rugby in the City.

The discussions between Mr Rossborough and his advisors and RFU Chief Executive Francis Baron, RFU Management Board Chairman Martyn Thomas and RFU Company Secretary Karena Vleck were productive and will be ongoing.

However, the RFU has yet to hear from Andrew Green further to his statement about his intent to put Coventry Rugby Football Club Limited into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation which is not proving helpful.

The move came after the West Midlands club received a winding-up order from the Inland Revenue because of an outstanding tax bill believed to be around £400,000.

Players were ordered not to turn up for training on Tuesday and directors were told to lock up the Butts Park Arena ground, which is not owned by the club, with all staff being sent home.

In addition the RFU has not heard from, nor been made aware of, any legal advisors being appointed to complete the liquidation process and so, at the current time, the legal status of the club remains unclear.

It is the current view of the RFU that until legally confirmed otherwise the club continues to trade and is obligated to play its game against Bedford Blues on Friday night.

The club’s players have vowed to play on if a deal can be sorted out. Coventry, now the third Championship club to face a financial crisis this season following the problems at London Welsh and Birmingham and Solihull, are due to play Bedford on Friday night. If the club fail to fulfill the fixture, they could face expulsion from the RFU.

The players have agreed to play the game and the support is being offered by Coventry City Council. The offer by the Ricoh Arena and its shareholders, Coventry City Council and the Alan Edward Higgs Charity, to host the Bedford Blues game, was also welcomed and it is hoped they will continue to be so supportive until the situation is resolved.

Francis Baron said: “We are very keen to do whatever we can to maintain rugby in Coventry where there is a great history and tradition. We are hopeful that Peter and other interested parties can put in place a plan of action that assures the legal status of the club and can deliver long term certainty to the club. We will be working with Peter to help him where we can and are in dialogue with the other Championship clubs to ensure we maintain the integrity of the league.”