Exiles on course to hit first target
FIVE years on from their plummet through the leagues, London Welsh are on course to complete their initial target of a fourth promotion with a perfect ten from ten in the sixth tier of English rugby.
On December 7, 2016, former Premiership side London Welsh invoked voluntary liquidation, due to having an unsustainable financial position.
It brought about the end of the professional era at Old Deer Park, as the RFU forced the club to start a new, as an amateur side.
The club which boasted seven British and Irish Lions for the 1971 New Zealand tour, as well as World Cup-Winning All Black Piri Weepu, was forced to fight their way back up the leagues starting over in the Hertfordshire and Middlesex 1 division.
‘Project Reset’ was introduced by the club’s management team and has brought immediate results. Director of rugby Cai Griffiths, below, who joined the side at this turning point, believes the future of the club looks healthy and is determined to build in a sustainable way.
He told The Rugby Paper: “With ‘Project Reset’ we set ourselves the challenge of four promotions in five years and we’re on track for a fourth promotion this season.
“Obviously last year didn’t work out because of Covid, so hopefully this season we’ll have another promotion.
“The club has a lot of history attached to it, and the big names that have played for it, and it’s an honour to be part of it. So we’ll hopefully have success this season, and then re-evaluate what we want to do in the next two to four years.”
Welsh are now playing in the London South 1 Division. And after ten wins in ten, Griffiths is building a team that can keep climbing the pyramid. “We’ve sat down as a collective in the club, and said it has to be sustainable – that’s the biggest thing, sustainability and the health of the club” Griffiths added. “We want to be here for the next 100 years, and I think this reset is a foundation block to go forward.”
Outside centre Rhys Howells, who arrived at the club in 2016, says: “I’ve seen a lot of change over the years. Each year, the club attracts new boys and as we go up the leagues, there’s bigger and better competition. It’s been pretty awesome to be part of the club; it’s such a historic place. It’s cool to be part of getting them back up to the leagues.”
Welsh are certainly thriving. They now have three senior teams, a vets side, and stronger foundations in the women’s team.
Paula Cooper, who has been playing for the women’s side since 2003, says: “It’s been a really good journey and I’m pretty sure you’ll find some of the supporters say ‘actually, it wasn’t a bad thing’.
“It’s brought us together as a community club again, and for me, that’s just been brilliant.”