THE president of Stourbridge RFC, Richard Baron, is confident the majority of the rugby club are open to exploring the possibility of a Sixways move. 

Last week, the new Sixways owers - Atlas Worcester Warriors RFC Ltd -  revealed their plans for a major shake-up for rugby in the city of Worcester.

Those plans included bringing Stourbridge to Sixways under the new brand of 'Sixways Rugby', ditching the Worcester Warriors brand in the process.

A meeting between members at Stourbridge was held last Friday and president Baron reported a positive reaction. 

"I chaired the meeting last Friday and the first response was one of short notice but then we explained it to them in greater detail," he said.

"We have heard from many sections of the club, it was a positive experience but there is a great deal of questioning still behind it all.

"I don’t think 'let's go ahead and do this' without due diligence and other factors to consider.

"But overal, my view is that despite some trepidation, I think that the majority of the section would like to explore the possibility.

The club will have to vote through any move to Sixways, but the date for that is not yet confirmed. The RFU also have to ratify any name change or relocation of a club. 

Worcester Warriors fans, perhaps rather understandably, voiced their concerns of the name change in particular. 

Baron confirmed there was not any agreement on the name of the brand and suggested Stourbridge fans would want their club represented.

"We haven’t had any conversation on that, that’s for further negotiations to come for us to come to an agreement on.

"We must retain our identity, a lot of people have been here a long time and – I would imagine - most would want to retain the Stourbridge name."

This is still a move that has a long way to go.

Atlas are inviting supporters of Worcester Warriors to an open event on Saturday, to answer questions and concerns. 

And Baron also admitted he felt sympathy for those Worcester fans: "I have a lot of empathy for them, I have been a Stourbridge supporter for 20 years so I know what it's like.

"To have a situation where they perceive they will lose their identity, it would be hard for them and I understand.

"But where Stourbridge is currently, with the the difficulty to engage players, I think it's something people here would look at to safeguard the future of the club.