The good news is that Gloucester club's championship-winning women of last year will defend their title, but the code's lack of a nursery system to provide the new blood of youth has inevitably cost the Cockies their position in the men's premiership.

The executive officer of the MNC Rugby Union, Bob Wilson, confirmed the grim bulletin, saying: "Gloucester men are out this year. It's 100 per cent correct. However, I'm sure they'll be back when we get these junior teams running."

It is a bitterly disappointing development from a club which has always provided the sternest opposition at Gloucester Oval in the glorious setting beneath the Bucketts Range, making Gloucester township the most desirable of destinations.

Matters began coming to a head with the retirement of long-standing stalwarts such as Chris Marchant and Jamie "Emu" Andrews and the departure of former M.N.C. Axeman representative halfback, Andrew Paynter, to lead the Wallamba Bulls to last season's premiership.

This season, initially powerful tight-head Mitch Meredith was won over by a rugby league club's financial inducements and then the Cockies' prolific goal-kicking front rower, Mick Wooster, decided to hang up his boots and take up a referee's whistle.

Rugby union is dependent on big forwards who scrummage. There is no team without a scrum in rugby, and the loss of Meredith and Wooster has cost them dearly.

The heartening news from the club is that coach David Cox's women's team will run out at Gloucester on April 13 to meet the Forster Tuncurry Dolphinettes in the first round of the premiership.

But the signs are ominous - first Myall Coast have closed their doors and now Gloucester's men's team have shut up shop.

The loss of the Gloucester men's XV means that the premiership has been reduced to five teams - Wallamba, Forster Tuncurry, Manning River, Old Bar and Wauchope, creating the disruption of a bye round for a team every fifth weekend of the minor premiership.