Moseley

Moseley have finished the season in 8th place after the cancellation of their final fixture this Saturday (May 9th)
at Otley.

FDR have awarded the Midlanders 5 points and a 20-0 victory which means they have finished the season just one place and nine points behind the Cornish Pirates.

A statement attributed to the management of Otley RFC released today said, "By agreement with the RFU and First Division Rugby Ltd, Otley Rugby club has cancelled its final National League One game of the season against Moseley which had been scheduled for Saturday May 9th.

As many as eight of the Yorkshire club's players have been selected for Yorkshire to play Northumberland on 9 May 2009 and Otley has always released players for the County Championship even though it is strictly not required to do so. Otley would not wish to stand in the way of players after a particularly difficult season.

Also, in Otley's eyes the match against Moseley was considered to be a dead rubber and the club has no objection to the league points being awarded to Moseley.

The decision was conditional upon the RFU and FDR agreeing to no further sanctions being taken against Otley RUFC Ltd and that confirmation was forthcoming yesterday.

Moseley's Director of Rugby, John Beale, who now relinquishes that position after seven years and who will step up to be the club President next season, commented

"Moseley Rugby Club has always been quite prepared to play this fixture but we fully understand Otley's decision to cancel the game. We wish the Otley club and its players well for next season"