Coventry Bears are Champions of the Rugby League Midland Conference Premier Division yet again after Gloucester Warriors were forced to forfeit the fixture this afternoon.
A statement released by the Warriors reads: "After making around 70 phone calls on Wednesday of this week, it soon became clear that the warriors would be unable to raise the numbers required to constitute a team for Saturday’s Co-operative Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier Division game with Coventry Bears.
It is with great regret therefore that the Warriors have to forfeit the fixture.
This is the first time in four seasons in the Midlands Premier Division that the Warriors have had to resort to this measure. Over the past two seasons, it has become increasingly difficult for a number of reasons to field a settled side capable of competing in the division.
To date this season, the Warriors have fielded over 90 different players. Though many of them were new to the game, their inexperience and the number of changes forced by circumstance meant that their experience of rugby league was not a wholly positive one and more often than not, was not conducive to them playing further.
We would like to pay tribute to the coaching staff who have worked extremely hard in trying circumstances to get a team on the field every week with few rewards in terms of results and the situation is in no way down to their lack of effort.
The Gloucestershire Warriors would like to thank the Bears for their patience and understanding in this unfortunate situation. We congratulate them on retaining the Minor Premiership and wish them luck in the play-offs."
Coventry Bears travel to the Birmingham Bulldogs next Saturday.