The Rotherham Titans have been placed into liquidation today, following the failure of any new financial backers to come forward.

The club, which has been labouring for some time under 'unsustainable indebtedness', had been in dispute with ERL about whether it should have been relegated at the end of last season, because of 'irregularities' regarding Worcester's compliance with the entry criteria to the Zurich Premiership.

According to the club's official website, the associated uncertainty about Rotherham's level of funding for the coming season constituted the last straw for the club's directors.

"We have been trading for some time with a high level of debt," one director is quoted as saying, "which we felt was just about manageable, if we had either retained our position in the Premier division, and hence [had] the higher level of funding that would have come our way under the ERL rules, or had found a new investor."

"Unfortunately, some of our creditors have decided they can wait no longer for their cash, and have started proceedings to recover the money. Key among these is the Customs and Excise people, who are looking for the payment of a VAT bill."

"Whilst we have issued a writ against the ERL to try and establish some clarity about the whole promotion and relegation issue, it is unlikely that the matter will be resolved in time to provide us with the injection of funds we need to continue trading."

Worse still, Rotherham's victory in any legal dispute would probably not have yielded them any damages but, rather, would have forced the ERL itself into liquidation.

"The club's directors have been battling for what seems like years to get top-level rugby established in Rotherham, but feel we have been knocked back repeatedly on promotion and relegation, on whether we could have an academy, and a whole host of other matters, and now feel we cannot keep asking our shareholders to keep pouring funds in for little return.'