IN the amateur era London Welsh had some of the finest players in world rugby on their books. Wales and British & Irish Lions legends JPR Williams, Gerald Davies and John Dawes all graced the hallowed turf of Old Deer Park.
But since the dawn of professionalism, the London-based club have found things much more difficult. Apart from two seasons in the top-flight of English rugby, they have struggled to make their mark and have fallen down the divisions.
It has been a sorry tale of financial turmoil and rugby strife. Now the club are led by player-coach Cai Griffiths, who enjoyed an 11-year career at the Ospreys when they were among the best club sides in Europe.
North Walian Griffiths was a key member of that squad and packed down alongside the likes of Wales internationals Alun Wyn Jones, Richard Hibbard, Adam Jones, Duncan Jones and Paul James.
After London Welsh fell into liquidation in December 2018, they were removed from English rugby's professional ranks and plummeted down the leagues.
Griffiths, who is assisted by former Scarlets, London Irish and Cardiff Blues outside-half Steven Shingler, has been successful in stabilising the Exiles. Before coronavirus disrupted the current season Welsh were top of the pile in London Two North West – Level 7 in the English system – and have duly been rewarded with promotion.
“There have always been two teams at London Welsh,” Griffiths says. “There has been the professional side but also an amateur side too. The amateur side were down in Level 10 of English rugby while the professionals were still playing.
“When the professionals went bust, the club decided to invest into the amateur side to try and bring them up. I went to meet Sonny Parker, who was our team manager, and Gwyn Williams who is the chairman. We had a coffee and they outlined a five-year plan. I knew it was the right decision for me to accept their offer.
“After we got relegated, the target was four promotions in five years. We've done two in two years and now we have just claimed our third. If we get that fourth promotion we will have a look at where we are and where we want to go moving forward.
“It's all about the sustainability of the club. Hopefully we can get back into the Championship, but we are well aware that it's going to be difficult.
“We need to learn from our mistakes in the past. We can't go spending money we haven't got. It has to be sustainable.”
Griffiths admits there is extra pressure at London Welsh due to the club's illustrious history.
He said: “The board have got the right coaches in and invested in the coaching team to try and get us in the best position to climb the leagues.
“Our sponsors and members all help in the journey for us to go up. We are very much a membership club. All the players have to pay membership so for us it's about getting to a certain point and then creating another plan of action to move us further forward.
“I've got some players who would be able to play a couple of levels above, but they are attracted by our history and tradition. We are one of the most famous clubs in the world and even though we are amateur at the moment, I do feel some pressure as coach to do the jersey justice.
“If that is in the Championship or National One we'll see where we are when we get there, but the boys are loving it down here. We look after them well.”
London Welsh have gone back to their roots and retain a strong Welsh core to their squad. On every Six Nations weekend Old Deer Park hosts up to 3,000 supporters and regularly holds events with former Welsh internationals.
Griffiths believes this is crucial in rediscovering themselves. He said: “There are about five Welsh speakers in the team. There is a big Welsh contingency in the squad itself and we are also trying to strengthen the Welshness in London.
“We've reached out to the universities in Wales as well to see if there are guys who are coming out of university and want to go to London. If they do, we want to be the first port of call regarding their rugby.
“We've got a thing called the Careers Hub which supports and mentors people who are looking to come into London and looking for a job because London is such a big place.
“If you are applying for a role somewhere you are one of around 300-odd candidates. We've got contacts in the city across all sectors. If there is a job opening it's an opportunity for someone to go ahead and go for an interview. We can open the door for them to make it a bit easier.”
STEFFAN THOMAS
