Birmingham & Solihull hit by swine flu outbreak

Dec 8 2009 by Brian Dick, Birmingham Mail

JUST when they thought their bad luck had ended Bees’ tiny squad has been ravaged by swine flu.

The Sharmans Cross outfit were forced to field a makeshift side at Bristol on Sunday with two players dropping out in the build-up.

No.8 Leo Halavatau pulled out on Saturday while new captain Ross Noonan was also unable to participate in the 28-0 defeat.

And with Canadian international Stuart Ault still struggling with a hamstring, that meant coach Eugene Martin had to field several players out of position.

Prop Ken Dowding went into the second row while Adam Clayton filled in at No.8 and centre Ronnie McLean moved to the wing.

And while he was gratified by his charges’ response to adversity, Martin admitted an epidemic is something his team can do without.

“Leo came to the team run having been ill all week and after it said he felt back to square one,’’ he said.

“Ross said he felt worse as the week went on.

“Clayts had it a couple of weeks ago so it is a concern for us.”

Which is why Bees have had to adopt an ultra-cautious approach.

Affected players have been treated by the club doctor and every effort has been made to make sure the risk of exposure is kept to a minimum.

“We have asked the guys to be sensible,” Martin said.

“The boys bring their own water bottles to training and we try to make sure they are not sitting around in wet gear or going out just wearing a vest.

“It’s a challenge but it’s just another thing we have to handle – we’ll battle on.”

To make matters worse, Bees also lost fly-half Ben Patston to injury early in Sunday’s match.

The former Cambridge play-maker rolled his ankle in the first five minutes and was replaced by Rod Petty. Although an X-ray has revealed no break, Patston is a doubt for this weekend’s visit from London Welsh.

However, Martin hopes to be able to call on Ault as the lock embarks on his second week of training.

“We have to take things slowly,” he said.

“We want our boys to be fit for February and March so there’s no point risking anything at this stage.”