Bob Howard took on the role of President in 1987/88 at a time when the playing strength of the Club was at an all-time low and the long-term financial situation looked extremely bleak. Recognising the potentially parlous state of the Club, he immediately set about persuading able and willing members to help in the administration of the Club. Individuals with proven track records were brought onto the Executive Committee and for the first time in a number of years, a Club Coach, in the shape of Colin Beer, was appointed. A Club Captain had not been elected, but Phil Raw, in his capacity as Chairman of Playing, stepped in to fill the void. The experimental Girobank Leagues were deemed to have been successful and so nation¬wide leagues were formed, under the sponsorship of Courage, and Moor was placed in North West - East Division One. A not very promising start was made to the season, however, and it soon became apparent that we would no longer be able to field a Colts XV, a situation that has not changed up to present. During the season, our last game against Monkstown from Dublin took place, thus ending an eighteen-year association between our clubs, and a presentation was made to Ian McKay to mark the 60th. anniversary of his membership.

Neil Sinclair added to his representative honours by playing for Middlesex, which followed a place in the Anglo-Scots side the previous season.A slow improvement in playing results continued in 1988/89 and the First XV, under the captaincy of David Beckler, progressed to the third round of the new Lancashire Trophy competition. The consolidation of performances continued into 1989/90 although the playing membership continued to dwindle. Another stalwart of the Club, Graham Drage, became President in this season. Graham had joined the Club in 1969 and was a mainstay of the First XV until he retired from playing and had served for ten consecutive years on the Executive Committee immediately prior to his Presidency. Nigel Cruddos was elected Club Captain, becoming the first ex-Colt to do so. The now annual tours to Benidorm in Spain commenced at the end of this season and included a game against Murcia University, a side we have played on each tour since. They intend to return the compliment in our Centenary year with a visit in January 2000. During the summer of 1990, Dennis Huxstep moved to East Anglia, thus severing a forty-year connection with the Club.

A Veterans XV was formed in 1990/91 at the instigation of David Todd and was made up entirely of players who had retired from the game. This additional team was vital at this time, as the Fourth XV had begun to struggle to raise a side each week and did, in fact, fold the following year, with the Vets, taking over its fixtures. The decline in playing membership not only had the effect of weakening the playing strength but also reduced the income of the Club, resulting in an ever-increasing strain on our finances. This situation was not unique to Moor, however, as most other rugby clubs in the area faced the same problems. It was a case of too many clubs chasing too few players. It was with this in mind, that early in 1991 exploratory talks were held between Broughton Park, Burnage and Heaton Moor with a view to a merger of all three clubs.

Such a prospect helped to focus the attention of the membership to the Club's predicament and an immediate result was for a new social committee to be formed, comprising mainly of non-playing members, which went under the title of the HOMBRES. This group set about organising various fund- raising activities and an indication of their success is the fact that they reduced the Club's overdraft from £7500 to £1200 in only three months. An open meeting was held in November 1991 to discuss the Club's future and the almost unanimous decision was for the Club not to merge. Other areas of fund-raising were investigated, including the sale of the clubhouse and the area immediately around it, but it was found that the cost of rebuilding elsewhere on the grounds would nullify any gains. Geoff Costello had taken over as President in this decisive season and made his own bit of history by playing for the First XV in four decades. He had started his career at Moor as a schoolboy in 1965 and continued playing until the early '80s. In his capacity as President, he had turned up to watch Moor play at St. Mary's O.B. in a Lancashire Trophy match and on finding out that Moor was a man short, volunteered to play. (The flying pig on the wing - again) Such dedication... The local squadron of the Air Training Corps had used our old pavilion as their headquarters for nearly twenty years, but at the end of this season, they moved out into purpose-built premises.

Season 1992/93 marked a turning-point in the fortunes of the Club, both on and off the field of play. Joe James began his two-year term as President and Paul Koller took over as Club Captain. The league structure had been reorganised and Moor was placed in North Lancashire Division One. With the appointment of Alan Pearson as Club Coach, there was a noticeable improvement in the playing performances throughout the Club, although, ironically, the First XV were relegated at the end of the season. The Second XV under captain John Tiny' Goodwin, however, set a Club record of ten consecutive wins. John, a former Moseley Hall schoolboy, made his First XV debut in 1975 and celebrates twenty-five years as a player with the Club in the Centenary season. In early '93, mini and junior rugby was reintroduced to the Club under the control of Peter Heath and an enthusiastic and committed group of coaches. The post of Chairman of Junior Rugby was also created on the Executive Committee as an acknowledgement of the importance of this group to the future of the Club and to prevent any similar confrontation of fifteen years previously. Peter Jackson became General Secretary, a position he still holds some seven years later. During the summer of 1993, we were saddened to learn of the death of Dennis Huxstep. Tom Whelan became Club Captain for the second time in two years in 1993/94 and together with Bill Kindon as Coach, the playing performance of the First XV continued to improve, resulting in their promotion as undefeated champions of North Lancashire Division Two.