Part one of the summary of the conference

the panel...
By David Hibell
May 15 2003

Unfortunately my tape ran out before the questions & answer sessions so those bits will be from memory, will add the rest later, but for now here is part one....

Present at the meeting that Malcolm entered carrying a Bristol Shoguns ball were Mike Rafter, Peter Thorburn, Malcolm Pearce and Ian Bell.

Also in attendance in the audience were James Grant, Paul Hull, Phil Adams.

Malcolm's announcement - verbatim.

Thanks for coming, this is 1 of the largest crowds Geoff Dunsford has seen at the Memorial Ground for a long time.

Let me start by reading a statement I think will be helpful & try to answer questions as best as I can after & hope that you actually write verbatim the answers to those questions & not what you think the the readers actually want to hear.

I'm slightly nervous as you can imagine as I've not had very favourable press of late as you well know & it seems strange to all those in Premiership Rugby that have put quite a lot behind the game since professionalism that they get criticised for so doing.

I also would like to say first of all that whilst some journalists portray me as the comic villain I would also like to say that I have never asked for thanks from anybody & to say that I don't deserve thanks for what I've done is , quite frankly, unfair but never mind, life is & you will have your way & I'm sure the more I whinge on about some of my media friends in this room the more you will get your own back in the end no doubt.

So can I just start by saying that I confirm today that the club, Bristol Rugby Club, WILL play next season at the Memorial Stadium in National League One.

However I've said time & time again that the position is that the club will need to be self sufficient or attract the backing of others.  The good news is that we have had a number of approaches since Saturday at 5 pm.  We're in discussion with various interested parties and consortiums of Bristol businesses and former Bristol players who have expressed a desire & willingness for keeping Bristol Rugby in the city.  & 1 of the options setting up this week is the setting up of a supporters trust where I've always said, if you recall, that rugby clubs should be owned not by individuals or benefactors, but supporters.

It's perfectly evident that we won't be able to support the current wage bill & so in all fairness to the players, some of whom are still in contract, we've acted quickly and I think responsibly in explaining the situation to them all that of course like anybody they are free to seek employment elsewhere but we need to act quickly because there are a number of players that have indicated the willingness to stay & also the businesses that there are a number of players that they would wish to keep.

Sadly I expect many of our players to be snapped up by other clubs at the same time I have assured both players and our non playing staff that we are very conscious of our commitments so far as employment laws etc are concerned.

On other front Jim Tyrell who you know, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Motors UK has made it clear to us that he is broadly in favour of the supporters trust and that while there remains to be a number of outstanding issues & subject to a satisfactory business plan Mitsubishi will continue to support the club under the new management.