Sharmans Cross Road, Birmingham & Solihull RFC, 1989-2010

Sharmans Cross Road will live long in the memory as the ground that a freshly relegated Harlequins side visited on the opening day of the 2005/06 National Division One season. Dean Richards' side boasted the likes of Andrew Mehrtens and Will Greenwood; meanwhile, the Pertemps Bees line-up included a wine salesman and an aircraft engineer.

A resilient Bees pack outshone Quins up front that day on route to a respectable 9-35 loss in front of a bumper 3,000 strong crowd, their jagged white, blue and red strips doing all they could to combat the famous southwest London quarters. However, despite this promising first showing the club finished bottom of the league that season, saved from relegation only by an expansion of the league from 14 to 16 teams.

This was the beginning of a turbulent five years at Sharmans Cross. Relegation would eventually come calling two seasons later, and when they returned to the second tier in 2009/10 it would be a season ravaged by financial insecurity. Consequently, the club departed from the ground at its conclusion, a victim of liquidation.

An event-filled history has seen Birmingham & Solihull RFC take on a number of guises over their 34 years. Originally formed through the merger of Birmingham RFC and Solihull RFC in 1989, the club played for seven years under the moniker of Pertemps Bees from 2001 to 2008, although the name was never formally adopted. The next facelift, a product of financial difficulties, was Birmingham & Solihull Rugby Club Limited, incorporated in 2009. A final re-invention of the club in 2018 saw it revert back to the original name that endures today.

Sharmans Cross Road was their home from the off as the club steadily ascended the English leagues. By 2005 a 1,000-seater stand purchased from nearby Worcester Warriors adorned one side of the pitch with terraced standing dotted along the other three, although often spectators made the wise decision to nestle themselves near the bar. By the mid-noughties Sharmans Cross had become a humble abode given the upwards trajectory of the club. There were plans to relocate to a new £60 million stadium built at their Portway training ground, however the project never quite made it off the ground.

Success at Sharmans Cross was far from linear, an immediate promotion to the national leagues in their first ever season immediately followed by a tumble back down a division. There were a few seasons of toil but winning the Jewson National League Two North title and promotion in 1997/98 set them on course for the next twelve years.

Just two seasons later and the club were once again celebrating promotion. A late season charge saw the Bees finish second and join league winners Otley in the new National Division One. An impressive ninth place finish, although only two points above the relegation spots, meant they held onto their place in the second tier, but soon mid-table finishes became the norm at Sharmans Cross under Director of Rugby Phil Maynard.

The 2003/04 season brought not only their best league finish of fourth, ahead of midlands rivals Bedford and Coventry, but also the most famous victory in the club's history. Overcoming staggering odds of 250-1 and a 19-6 half-time scoreline, the Bees knocked out Premiership champions London Wasps 24-28 in the Powergen Cup – away from home! 

 The Bees may never have broken into the top tier of English rugby yet some notable former players called Sharmans Cross Road home. The 2006/07 season was all about Akapusi Qera, who would go on to make 65 caps for Fiji and play for Gloucester, Toulouse and Montpellier, who posted a remarkable 16 tries from flanker. Another was Russell Earnshaw, the former Bath and England sevens player, who joined initially as forwards coach, then became head coach before finally being forced into a player-coach role as the club fought through the troubles of the 2009/10 season.

After the zenith of 2003/04, the club’s finances had moved into a position of worrying instability. Faced with a five-figure tax bill just as the club began the inaugural season of the Championship, the club wanted to use Sharmans Cross Road as their ticket to survival. However, plans to build 87 new homes on the site to pay off the debts were rejected, a huge setback that led to administration, two separate points deductions and 20 squad players departing, the club finishing the regular season on negative points.

However, Sharmans Cross was to play its part in a miracle ending dubbed ‘The Great Escape’. In their four-team relegation play-off the Bees faced not one but two of their closest Midlands rivals in Moseley and Coventry, an incredible 19-12 victory against Moseley and a tight 35-38 loss to Coventry enough for the Bees, against all the odds, to save themselves from relegation and cling on to Championship rugby for one more season.

To this day Sharmans Cross stands derelict. The club itself was thankfully saved from ruin after administration but is now destined to compete at in the lower tiers of English rugby, unlikely to ever return to the heights of the Championship. Sharmans Cross may be empty but it endures, reflective of its former tenant that despite their short time in the sun, they were able to make a lasting mark on rugby’s consciousness.