London Welsh to return to Old Deer Park

London Welsh have confirmed today that they will leave Oxford next season and return to Old Deer Park from the start of the Championship season.
The Exiles spent the last three seasons at the Kassam Stadium, two of them in the Premiership, but following their second relegation in three seasons they will return to Richmond as the club “feels that its return to the Championship is a suitable point at which to make a move back to south-west London”.
London Welsh Chairman Bleddyn Phillips, said: “We have enjoyed a very exciting and challenging period in Oxford these past three years. We have had successes on and off the pitch and yet we also need to recognise that perhaps the degree of support, both in terms of ground attendance and commercial sponsorship, may not have been quite as extensive as we might have hoped or wished for.
“We believe we have made a considerable contribution to the community in Oxfordshire, both in terms of local clubs and schools, and we feel privileged and pleased to have been able to make such contributions over the past three years to these communities in Oxfordshire.
“We now look forward to the next period in the Club’s history when we can build on the experiences of the past three years and take that forward with us as we return to south-west London.”