The Launceston Bees have been “forcibly removed” from this season’s Tasmanian Rugby Union competition due to an inability to reliably field a team and an excessive number of players failing to pay subscription fees.
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The embattled club forfeited its match on Friday night for the second successive week and the governing body has stepped in.
“The club owes a substantial amount, not just from this year,” TRU secretary Mark Oakford said.
“They are clearly not in a position to field a men’s 15s team and they do have the opportunity to combine with another club and I believe negotiations are underway.”
It is understood Launceston players are considering lining up for Burnie for the season’s remainder but Oakford said that would only be allowed for players that have fully paid up.
“We are not saying to the club that they must close, the club still has a women’s team, it still has junior sevens on Friday nights…[and] ability to obtain income from its clubrooms,” Oakford said.
“The men’s side of the club has proven that it can’t function all that well so we are not in a position to allow them to maintain that dysfunction without inconveniencing the rest of the competition.
“It is disappointing and maybe they can come back next year or the year after.”
Attempts to contact Launceston Bees were unsuccessful but they posted on social media that a special general meeting would be held in coming weeks.
Coach Nic Sotiriou said earlier this week: “We’re still going to play a couple of trial games and we’re still going to train together.”