Wolves and DK are left in limbo

Rugby’s governing body took the decision at the end of last week to end all league competitions below the Premiership due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Wolves and DK are top of the respective Midlands Two West (North) and Midlands One West divisions, but they must now wait for a further announcement next month as the RFU work to “ensure fair and balanced outcomes” in all divisions.

Wolves are three points clear of second-placed Camp Hill, and hold a game in hand over their nearest rivals, while DK are four clear of Kenilworth having played the same number of matches.

And now they must play a waiting game with Wolves coach Ian Harley fearing their hard work may count for nothing.

“I have absolutely no idea where we stand,” said forwards coach Harley.

“I received an email on Friday saying the season had ended and that a decision on the outcome would be made towards the end of April.

“How they work things out, I don’t know.

“We are top of our league, but other teams could still catch us so it wouldn’t really be fair on them if we were declared champions.

“And, similarly, it wouldn’t be far to relegate clubs that can still catch some of those above them.

“I always felt that the season would be ended, but now that has happened I can’t see why we have to wait another month or so for a decision on what happens with regard to promotion and relegation.

“I would have thought they could have sorted that out in a couple of weeks.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to this. It’s unprecedented.

“I fear that the season will be declared null and void.

“Our first team, second team and third team are all top of their respective divisions.

“The fact that we are not able to complete it out on the pitch has potentially robbed the players of a special day.

“It would be a really hard pill to swallow if we weren’t officially declared champions and the lads had nothing to show for their efforts.

“I played for 19 years and won one cup and two promotions. Winning seasons don’t come around very often.

“There is no fair solution to it and I really don’t envy the people that have to come up with an answer.”

And Harley is also concerned of the financial hit clubs will take while they are shutdown.

“Some clubs are going to take a massive hit financially,” added Harley.

“We hold a lot of summer events that generate revenue for the club and it looks like we will have to cancel all of them.

“We were looking to do some work on improving the drainage on some of our pitches.

“But if we are losing up to £20,000 that those events may have generated, then I don’t know if we will have the money to do that.”

DK head coach Neil Shillingford has taken a phlegmatic approach to the situation.

“The decision from the RFU wasn’t a surprise and it will be interesting to see what they decide going forward,” said Shillingford, whose side have suffered play-off defeats in the previous two seasons.

“But there is nothing at all we can do about. This is unprecedented.

“We just have to wait and see what happens, accept whatever decision is made and then just get on with things.

“But I think there may some clubs at our level and below who will struggle financially.

“Apart from the fact that we have had no rugby played for a couple of months, clubs are going to have to cancel various functions.

“We had an ex-players’ day, a ladies’ day and the end of season presentation nights planned and they will all have to be cancelled.

“But there will be clubs in a far worse situation than us, especially those that were hit by the floods.”

At the other end of DK’s division, Stourbridge Lions and Old Halesonians are battling to avoid relegation, as are Wednesbury in Midlands Three West (North). Aldridge are second in Midlands Four West (North) table and waiting to see if they will be granted a step up in standard.