| Orrell Rufc |
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Orrell Rugby Union Football Club is a Rugby Union team from Orrell , in Greater Manchester , founded in 1927. Traditionally a 'community club', Orrell has been through some incredibly turbulent times since the game turned professional and as the new millennium dawned, they were faced with debts over £1 million. Facing possible collapse, the club was sold to JJB owner Dave Whelan who promised a future of Premiership and European rugby. Several very successful seasons saw the team rise from the depths of National League Two to a top-2 finish in National One, just missing out on promotion to the Zurich Premiership below Worcester. Althoughthe rugby on the first team pitch was certainly exciting, it was not all roses. Whelan axed the junior sides overnight and revoked all club membership, forcing Orrell loyals to unfairly pay over-the-odds to see their team. Maurice Lindsay, the much-loathed chairman of Wigan Warriors, was installed as Orrell chairman too despite professing his utter hatred for the union game throughout his career. In his two years as chairman, he attended 4 games - never watching one from start to finish. Looking back, you could say we should be grateful to Whelan for at least saving us from collapse. However, with relegation to National Three North now confirmed, one could ask if his intervention really did make a difference. Whelan is a harsh businessman, and the carnage and destruction he so perfectly executed at Orrell is actually justifiable when you look at it from a cold and profit-driven perspective. With Wigan Athletic on the rise, there simply was no financial reason to hold on to Orrell. Natrually, he withdrew and handed the club back to its members. Having sold off the surrounding training pitches for housing developments, Whelan also granted Wigan Warriors primary tenancy of Edge Hall Road and while Orrell still have use of the ground on matchdays, essentially all they own is the name. Orrell are a classic example of a team that has been utterly raped by the introduction of professionalism, and it is a testament to the current committee that they are still going. Forever amber.... EXTERNAL LINK |
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