Stour tackle richest club in world
Cambridge have more than held their own in National League Two since arriving in the division two seasons ago and they will enter the new year with renewed vigour having potentially become the richest rugby club in the world.
Cambridge have more than held their own in National League Two since arriving in the division two seasons ago and they will enter the new year with renewed vigour having potentially become the richest rugby club in the world.
Alki David, the 39-year-old Greek billionaire and founder of filmon.com, the name that will adorn some of the advertising hoardings at Wests Renault Park, established a sponsorship link with the club when his interest in taking over Coventry City waned on seeing the club's accounts.
Cambridge's rise through rugby's ranks has been meteoric since the turn of the millennium.
From London's second division, the equivalent to Midlands Two West in which Walsall and Lichfield currently ply their trade, Cambridge have been promoted three times in the past four years and have seen their average attendances rise from 70 to 700 in the process.
Although the affiliation with David is unlikely to reap the same instant rewards as Roman Abramovich's millions did at Chelsea, a link has been established and "substantial investment" has been promised.
The cash injection will not have come soon enough, though, for the visit this weekend of Stourbridge.
Although Mitchell might cast an envious glance towards the East Anglian outfit - "that's the way it goes" - he must also know that his National League Two counterparts will be looking at the way his side's more conventional rise to prominence has been achieved.
Sustained and steady improvement means that the squad Mitchell takes to Cambridge on Saturday will be the strongest the club has ever had and, having seen off this weekend's opponents once already this this season, knows they are well-capable of producing the same outcome.
How much longer that can be said about a Stour side travelling to Cambridge is open for debate.
Mitchell admitted: "If we do not go up this year then next season all the sides in National League Two will probably be playing for one promotion spot.
"A guy who becomes a billionaire by the time he is 40 and has said he wants to make a Premiership rugby club in East Anglia is not the type of person to hang around, is he?
"It is a great idea and he certainly came along at the right time for Cambridge.
"I would not be surprised if their squad is full of Premiership quality next season so I am wary that we need to be out of this division.
"In the short-term the players they have are either going to be de-motivated by thinking they will not be at the club next year, or will be hell-bent on making a good impression.
"I fear it will be the latter."
