Mounts Bay 'no' to administration

The management committee of Mounts Bay say the National Two club will not go into administration for the time being.

Bay owe �20,000 to creditors as gates have fallen and sponsorship dried up due to the economic crisis.

"Mounts Bay will be up and running through the remainder of the season and the foreseeable future," chairman Arthur Edwards told BBC Radio Cornwall.

But a training session had to be called off on Tuesday after only eight players turned up.

"We've got a lot of things to discuss in next few weeks but as a club we have a desire that Mounts Bay should be here for the people of the town," Edwards added.

"We've got somebody who is prepared to talk to us and has been talking to us, but there are various issues which he needs to have confirmed to him."

The problem we've had is not knowing if the club going to be here next week, or the following week

Bay scrum-half Greg Goodfellow

Players say they have been left in the dark as to the seriousness of the problems by the club's management.

"The problem we've had is not knowing if the club is going to be here next week, or the following week," said scrum-half Greg Goodfellow.

"It's been a distraction but as players and coaches we've got to put it to the back of our minds.

"But we're semi-pro guys and we give a lot of time and effort. It's like a job, if you have a job and you turn up and work 8-5 you have to be paid for the work you do."

The Penzance-based club has gone from the bottom rung of rugby's league pyramid all the way to National Two, two divisions off the Premiership, in just nine seasons.

Mounts Bay have no assets. They have to rely on the Cornish Pirates for their pitch and use of the clubhouse and have no way of generating money.

BBC Radio Cornwall's Mike Larkins

And Edwards says the club's future should be secure for the longer term.

"Our intention is to play next season and the season after," he said.

"What we want to do is be able to perform at the highest level possible for Mounts Bay and meet sponsors' needs. No club can play National League rugby without sponsorship these days."

But according to BBC Radio Cornwall's Mounts Bay reporter, Mike Larkins, the problem that the club faces is tougher than other sides in the area.

"Mounts Bay have no assets. They have to rely on the Cornish Pirates for their pitch and use of the clubhouse and have no way of generating money," he said.

"They don't get a very large cut of refreshments sold at the game so it's very difficult to generate money, it's just people coming through the gate and sponsorship."

Mounts Bay's recent history

Formed December 1999

2002-2008: Win six consecutive promotions to go from Cornwall League One to National League Two

2007: Win EDF Energy Intermediate Cup at Twickenham

6 September 2008: Play first National Two match losing 14-7 away at Tynedale.

25 October 2008: Bay win first National Two match 8-6 at rivals Launceston having lost their first seven games.

21 January 2009: Bay's financial plight first comes to light

11 March 2009: Club admits it may go into administration

17 March 2009: Management says club will survive and is in talks with a new sponsor

Crowds have slumped from an average gate of over 1,000 last season to around 400 this term, despite the rise in the level of rugby being played.

But Larkins hopes that the club does not fold as he feels Penzance need a club who play their games in the town after the Cornish Pirates moved to play their games at Camborne.

"It'd be a travesty having seen the old Penzance and Newlyn club come up since the 1990s," he said.

"Mounts Bay have filled the void Penzance and Newlyn have left since moving up to Camborne and becoming the Cornish Pirates.

"If Mounts Bay folded it would be a crying shame that there'd be no National League rugby after what both clubs have put in over the years."