Ending season is ‘right decision but it will come at a cost’ says Reynolds
RAIDERS have to start looking at their prospects for next season despite not know what level they will be playing at, according to their director of rugby.
All league rugby below the top-flight Premiership has been brought to an end for the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and Guernsey’s Jordan Reynolds called it ‘the right decision’.
However, while the RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has said that they are working through the implications of this move and clubs will be informed of the outcomes by mid-April, Reynolds believes it could take longer than that for Raiders, who were top of London & South-East Premier, to discover their fate.
‘It’s obviously unprecedented times and chaotic for everyone and stopping sport is the right idea. It is not ideal for us, but there are much bigger things going on,’ he said.
‘Now we have got to look at things financially because every club is going to be struggling going into next season.
‘Any sports teams budget on what they believe their earnings are going to be for the season and so losing two home league games – and Wimbledon and Dorking would have been two of the biggest games we could have hosted in the circumstances – as well as potentially a Siam Cup and the revenue they would bring is going to hurt us hugely.
‘We have to start looking at how next season is going to look no matter where we are playing.
‘It is the right decision to stop playing games now, but how to fix the hole that it’s going to create will be a problem for all clubs and, to be honest, I would be pretty amazed if a Premiership club does not go bust.’
More in Monday's Guernsey Press.
