How London Welsh are working way back to top

William Gupwell goes down to south-west London to find a club out to rediscover itself

London Welsh were once a club at the pinnacle of the rugby world, providing the game with some of its greatest players, such as British and Irish legends JPR Williams and John Dawes.

However, the professional era brought financial troubles for the club, and disaster came in 2017 when the RFU dissolved the professional side of the operation, and they became purely an amateur team playing in the lower tiers of the rugby pyramid.

Since 2017, those at the Exiles have been determined to return the once-great club back to where it belongs through ‘project reset’.

They have achieved multiple promotions and are now at level five, one league title away from returning to the National Leagues.

Building back to the top

They went into this weekend top of Regional 1 South Central with four wins from four and director of rugby Cai Griffiths, below, is confident they can rise to the challenge.

“We’re very happy with how pre-season went, trying to layer on the success from last year. Our main focus is to be able to say we are the fittest side in the league.” Griffiths told The Rugby Paper.

“We came to level five from level six last season and we weren’t fit enough, and it really showed in the first four or five games.

“So we’ve been really working hard; we have a way we want to play, high-tempo but accurate rugby, and to do so, our fitness levels need to be there.

“It is quite a young squad. The success that we’ve had initially, where we were shooting up the leagues, it’s hard to get a young squad to mature quickly.

“I think having these two years in this league, I’ve seen a massive growth in the team and maturity in them.”

Welsh finished third last season with 85 points – with only two losses in the whole season – and they finished with five wins on the bounce.

Being Sustainable

“The goal is to get to the highest level but do so in a sustainable way,” director of rugby operations Jonathan Shankland explained.

“We’re entering phase two of ‘project reset’ now. After two years in this league, we’re targeting promotion.”

Sustainability is key for London Welsh following the overexpenditure that cost them so dear when they last strived for the Premiership.

Shankland said: “When you go through something like that, it does leave quite a staunch memory in your mind, so everything that we do is done the right way, and lessons have been learnt.”

Key to their recent success is the culture and team that Griffiths and the backroom staff have organically built.

This season, they’ve retained 95 per cent of their playing squad as well as bringing on board a few quality new signings.

Notable Additions

Some notable additions include Tommy Bell, joining from the Japanese Pro League, who has arrived as a player-coach and hooker Garin Lloyd, joining from Championship side London Scottish, who has previously been capped for Wales U20.

Shankland said: “We’ve built an incredible squad for this league; you could look at the calibre of that squad, and it could even play in the Championship.”

However, despite the signings and the squad that has been built, Welsh insist they are going about their rebuild in the correct way.

Smart Recruitment

The careers hub at London Welsh is a core component and clearly a great pride of all those involved.

“You can see that through our recruitment, we’re not throwing money at players we’re doing it in the right way,” Shankland added.

“Players come to London Welsh to be part of a community club, the careers hub and help build them a life here.

“The gravitas of the club also helps. There are very few level five clubs that get 1,500 supporters on a matchday.

“When we set up the hub at the start of ‘project reset’ back in 2017, the aim was to attract players to the club in a sustainable way that wasn’t just throwing money at them.

“It’s about mentoring and life outside of rugby. It gives people jobs as and when it can, and we have mentors from a variety of professional sectors in the city and around the south-east. About 70 per cent of our current squad has been through the hub, either to gain employment or for advice.

“It’s critical for what we do and is a massive draw and help for recruitment. Players come because they want to play for us, and we can help them in the long run.”

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