BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Exclusive: Former Featherstone Rovers forward Elijah Taylor is taking the Championship club to court over several thousands of pounds he alleges they owe him.
Taylor, currently on the books of Oldham, spent the 2023 season with Featherstone and made 19 appearances for them.
The Kiwi alleges that Rovers owe him money for failure to cover medical treatment for an eye injury he suffered while playing for the club, and for failure to pay for his daughter’s visa.
Taylor claims that both his medical costs and his daughter’s visa payment were both covered by his contract with Featherstone, and have not been fulfilled by the club, constituting a breach of contract.
In documents seen by rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads, the forward states: “Despite multiple attempts to resolve this matter professionally, the club has ignored my emails and WhatsApp messages, forcing me to escalate this issue.”
The 35-year-old plans to take Rovers to small claims court if he does not receive what he alleges the club owes him.
He says the RFL “has done nothing” to resolve the issue.
Taylor is not the only former Featherstone player chasing the club for money. Both Greg Eden and Samy Kibula have made public claims on social media that the second division side also owes them money.
This afternnon club CEO Martin Vickers denied Taylor’s claim: “There are no monies owed to Mr Taylor, the Club paid for his visa during his time at the Club.
“The Club were not legally in a position to apply for a visa for one of Mr Taylor’s children and to date Mr Taylor has advised that he has never paid for the visa for his daughter so there is nothing owed to Mr Taylor regarding this matter.”
rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads understands other players have also made allegations about money owed to them by Rovers of late.
Last year former Featherstone halfback Ryley Jacks took the club to court and won a judgment to receive money he was owed.
In June 2023 ex-Rovers prop Ben Mathiou won several thousands of pounds of money owed to him after taking the club to an employment tribunal.
Taylor moved to the UK in 2021, leaving Wests Tigers to join Salford. He spent two seasons with the Red Devils before a single year with Featherstone.
The ex-Kiwi international has been at Oldham for the past two years. He made 11 appearances for New Zealand from 2011 to 2017.
Featherstone are currently ninth on the Championship ladder, with one win and two losses after three rounds.
In February the club sacked head coach James Ford and replaced him with Paul Cooke.
Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix
