Stourbridge's proposed partnership with Worcester Warriors could preserve rugby for 'generations to come'

The club’s committee will meet informally with membership at Stourton Park on Friday to talk through plans which could potentially see the first XV move to Worcester’s Sixways Stadium.

It was that aspect which made immediate headlines on Thursday morning when Jim O’Toole, director of Warriors’ owners Atlas Group, claimed they would be merging with Stourbridge and rebranded as Sixways RFC, after pulling out of the application process to play in next season’s Championship.

That statement appears to have been premature, with Stourbridge’s long-serving director of rugby Neil Mitchell stating no proposals had been finalised and insisting the final say will ultimately rest with club members.

A Special General Meeting, where a vote on the deal will take place, is due to be called in the coming weeks. The RFU, which also plans to consult with Stourbridge members, has the power to block any deal it determines not to be in the best interest of the sport.

Speaking to the Express & Star, Mitchell said the club would be retaining its name and would remain a members’ club, come what may.

He said: “It is ultimately down the membership to decide what they want to do. Everything is still there to be decided.

“The message from me is we will remain Stourbridge Rugby Club. We will remain a members club.

“However, this is a commercial investment opportunity which could help the club significantly in the long-term.”

Mitchell confirmed he would be speaking in favour of the proposed deal, having helped broker it with the help of former Moseley team-mate Leigh Hinton, now an agent, who put him in touch with new Sixways owner Josh Sandford.

Stourbridge are in danger of dropping out of the National League for the first time in nearly two decades, currently sitting rock bottom of Division Two West – English rugby’s fourth tier – having won just one match all season.

Mitchell explained how the club had been hit hard by the loss of Wasps and Worcester, from whom they both borrowed players, with a slew of injuries making the current campaign a “reality check”.

“The truth is for the last 20 years we have had to beg, steal and borrow players in order to compete at National League level,” he explained. “It’s been smoke and mirrors.

“Yes, we have had local guys who have come through from the mini and juniors to the semi-professional game.

“But our demographic with three other currently junior clubs within a four-mile radius of ours means the pool in which to ‘fish’ for players to compete at national level is running dry.

“I see this investment as a chance to move the club forward. It is not about me, or even the first XV, but the mini and juniors sections and the generations to follow.

"We have fantastic facilities at Stourton Park and the opportunity is here to put Stourbridge Rugby Club firmly on the map, at the epicentre of rugby in the Black Country and beyond.”

Warriors, liquidated last year, had been expected to rejoin the Championship next season under their new ownership.

But O’Toole, speaking on Thursday, explained how they had pulled out of the application process because they could not “agree to the RFU’s conditions and commercial restrictions”.

O’Toole said: “We will invest in [Stourbridge’s] semi-professional first team and they will play at Sixways.

“We will invest significantly to get them through the leagues. The plan will be to reach the Championship by 2026.”