Waterloo RUFC moving into new territory

May 24 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

A NUMBER of important moves at Waterloo include the departure of last year’s president Colin Fisher, who was responsible for much of the club’s pre-season team building.

He is succeeded by former club captain and coach Phil Mahon with Irish banking executive Simon Robb taking over from Colin Brennand as chairman after the latter served for five testing years.

As recent meetings have illustrated, Waterloo have to make up their minds whether to stay at Blundellsands or move to an alternative site and whatever they decide will require a major drive for additional cash if they are to be successful.

The 41-year-old Robb is a business relations director of Barclays in Liverpool and certainly appears to have the potential to ensure the club has a really strong financial base.

He will not be involved with bringing in new players, a vital task that will now be concentrated on coach Chris O’Callaghan who, as anticipated, has renewed his existing contract for a further 12 months.

Fisher was responsible for much of last season’s recruitment, but that vital part of the club’s activities will now be entirely up to O’Callaghan, who is probably better suited to finding the right men.

Brennand, who has played a vital part in holding the club together for the last five years, has now stepped down from the chairmanship of the parent company, Waterloo Leisure Holdings, but will continue as a director.

Mahon will succeed Fisher as club president for the next two years, while Ian Hamilton Fazey continues to lead the focus group discussing the overall future of club policy.

Robb worked for many years in London on corporate finance, before moving to Liverpool in 2002 and looks the ideal person to strengthen Waterloo’s overall financial situation.

From a playing point of view, several leading members of the existing team are expected to be moving on.