Rugby Union: Bristol close to Scottish buy-out

BRISTOL'S RADICAL plans to buy out the shareholding in the Premiership One club London Scottish should be completed this afternoon.

Lawyers and accountants from both clubs are finalising the legal framework for the deal, which will then be presented to the English First Division Rugby for ratification.

The Premiership Two club's chief executive, Nick de Scossa, told a meeting of 150 supporters at the Memorial Stadium last night that the deal would still go through even if the structure of the English leagues for next season remained unaltered and the promotion and relegation format was unchanged.

"We have the backing of 90 per cent of the London Scottish shareholders and they want the deal to go through," de Scossa said.

The clubs will play out their fixtures for this season but then the professional arm of London Scottish would cease to exist.

The actual takeover will not be completed until May, because the Rugby Football Union and International Rugby Board regulations forbid an individual owning more than one club.