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Exeter needed an eviction order this weekend to protect their Sandy Park fortress
Gallagher Premiership finalists Exeter have had an unusual off-season match to deal with this weekend at their Sandy Park home – travellers who set up camp in the club’s car park and demanded £1,500 to move.
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The fixture began in the early hours of Saturday morning when two caravans, a motor home and three vehicles were first spotted in the club’s car park.
The weekend intrusion led to the Chiefs using club vehicles to block entry and exit points to the car park for fear that other travellers would arrive on the land.
Then, rather than pay the demanded monies directly to the travellers, club bosses spent £1,500 on obtaining a high court enforcement order from a company in the English midlands to evict the travellers from Sandy Park.
Tony Rowe, Exeter’s chief executive and chairman, told devonlive.com: “We got a decent agent in who deals with travellers and they were all gone by 8pm.
They were extremely aggressive, say Exeter Chiefs https://t.co/IM3ocfZvQa
— Devon Live News (@DevonLiveNews) June 23, 2019
“They were a bit aggressive and threatening when they left as we chucked them off so quickly and they threatened to come back.
“We have security there until tomorrow when will put in some anti-traveller devices,” continued Rowe, who added that the rubbish left behind by their fleeting visitors was an eyesore.
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“Considering they were only on site for less than 24 hours they left a ton of mess which have to be cleared up. What they left was disgusting.”
Travellers have pitched up at Sandy Park and demanded £1,500 from @ExeterChiefs to leave https://t.co/2FhQ2otuGN
— Devon Live News (@DevonLiveNews) June 22, 2019
Prior to the eviction, Rowe had said: “We have had conversations with them and they asked for £1,500 and have made idle threats.
“They were slightly hostile with myself when I challenged them to move on and when we refused to pay them money. They know the law and that because it is private land it will take 48 hours to obtain an order to remove them which will cost us £1,500.
“I would rather pay for the order. If you pay them cash directly they will come back as they will think you’re a soft touch.
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“I’m not angry because there’s nothing you can do about it. We will have to sit down next week and work out how to stop it happening again in the future.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Kok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
2 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
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