‘We chased the Prem dream and went bust’

LONDON Welsh might have been a powerhouse in the amateur era of the 1960s and 1970s, supplying seven members of the 1971 Lions side that won a series in New Zealand.

But when the league system was introduced in 1987, just two years after they were John Player Cup finalists, they were left floundering.

Welsh found their glory days were a millstone around their necks and, within six seasons following the reorganisation into North and South divisions, found themselves in the bottom tier.

Former prop Richard Thomas says: “We had the 71 Lions and were successful until 1985 when we lost the John Player Cup Final. We thought we couldn’t do any wrong.

“When other clubs were plotting and planning and paying players and getting proper coaching in place we didn’t, but we kept playing our traditional fixtures in Wales.

“We played the likes of Llanelli, Swansea and Cardiff, which was great for the crowd, but it didn’t help us in the league structure because people got injured.

“By the time we got things in place, we had dropped down the leagues, and when you drop down, the players stop coming. Welsh players went elsewhere.

“After 1985, it was all downhill. Before that, they didn’t have to do any recruitment, people just turned up because they thought it was the place to be.”

After back-to-back promotions in 1995 and 1996, Welsh found themselves climbing the ladder of success and later twice won promotion to the Premiership.

A financial meltdown saw them liquidated in December 2016, and a month later, one of the most famous names in the game were kicked out of the Championship.

They are now playing in London 1, but Thomas says the club is in the best shape it’s been for years.

“Kelvin Byron was funding the team and got a bit carried away. He was determined to see the team in the Premiership and moved them to Oxford, and I didn’t agree with that at all.

“They tried it twice, came down and went back up, and I thought after the first time, you’ve had a go at it, now drop back to a level where the club is sustainable.

“You don’t have to go paying loads of money, then you aren’t going to go bust. But they went again and went bust. It’s a shame we had to go through that kind of pain.

“It’s the same pain that Richmond and London Scottish went through ten years before. But now London Welsh are in the best health they have been for a long time.”