Raiders win back £3k
GUERNSEY Rugby Club has saved themselves thousands of pounds by winning an RFU appeal.
National Two playoff opponents Bournemouth sought £3,600 from the Guernsey club, who defeated them at Footes Lane in April.
But the GRFC appeal was upheld by an RFU appeal panel comprising a barrister, a solicitor and a magistrate and will now pay just £320, which is more than the £86.20 required of them by the RFU after their deliberations.
‘I’m just pleased to have got it sorted,’ said GRFC chairman Charles McHugh.
‘What they were asking for – 40% of the gate – would have meant we had to have 8 or 9,000 at the game and there was nowhere near that number.
‘I have asked our treasurer to forward a voluntary payment of £320 to Bournemouth, based upon 40% of our average gate of last season.’
The South Coast club had initially reported the Guernsey club to the RFU for wrongly declaring a free gate.
But, as McHugh explained, it was impossible to take money at the gate due to the fact that the play-off had been intermingled with the long-planned Junior Siam day.
He said at the time: ‘I defy any club in the country to defer this weekend in case of a play-off.’
Having considered the arguments of both clubs in May, initially the RFU had voted unanimously to back the visitors’ claim.
‘We believe in the core values of rugby and we are pleased to be able to follow the spirit of the regulations in this way,’ said McHugh yesterday.
