Spotlight On - London Welsh

On Wednesday 4th June 2014 London Welsh secured promotion to the Aviva Premiership; their road to the top flight competition was long and ardouous and they had to fight tooth and nail to get there, but get there they did and their reward is a second bite at the Aviva Premiership cherry.

Having not spent too much time with the side I took the opportunity to visit their London home, Old Deer Park, in order to get to know our new recruits a little better. From the moment that I walked in what struck me the most was the absolute togetherness of the squad. It certainly wasn't something that was expecting to find from a side that recently acquired over twenty new players. The club was buzzing, it was filled with excitement and quite simply it was a great place to be.

London Welsh is what you would call a proper rugby club, it has old school values and is far from flashy. The Welsh way is 'to show an unrelenting commitment to the club, work extremely hard and do anything for London Welsh'. Those are the words of Club Captain Tom May, he and the rest of the senior team stated clearly that at Welsh they have absolutely no time for individuals that are looking for the limelight or for people with egos. Instead it is and always will be all about the rugby. 

Two years ago they fought the Premiership battle and lost, so a key question is are they better equipped this time? Club Chairman Bleddyn Phillips believes so due to a number of reasons; first they have enjoyed an extra month of preparation time and no distractions from any 'legal shenanigans' off the pitch. Second  he believes that they have a deeper squad in terms of skills and a stronger sense of spirit than before. Finally and maybe most importantly they know what to expect having competed in the Aviva Premiership once already. Full Back Seb Jewell remembers their last campaign and in his words it feels ‘massively different to last time’. Two years ago there was almost a sense of being a little star struck at the prospect of Aviva Premiership Rugby however this time around the side have a ‘full on, we mean business attitude’ and will not be bowing down to anyone. 

It would be remiss of me to not speak about Welsh’s new signings, of which they are many. The mix is vast, from an experienced All Black to those cherry picked from the Championship and below. Right now the true stars are unknown, you suspect the ‘funny little fella’ as Justin Burnell calls him; Piri Weepu, to shine however if he does, he will not be alone. After a great season at Harlequins there are high expectations for Tim Molenaar and of course former Gloucester man Olly Barkley. Their signings are designed to complement Welsh's existing players and with the talent and experience of individuals like Tom May, Matt Corker, Richard Thorpe, Seb Stegmann and Seb Jewell, Justin Burnell's squad is a strong one. 

Progression, being competitive and most of all doing themselves justice are critical objectives for all at London Welsh. In seven days time they will run out at the Kassam ready for the huge journey ahead of them. There isn't any doubt about the fact that this year will be a step up however with such a superb Head Coach at the helm in terms of his experience and character and one of the strongest cultures in the Aviva Premiership you cannot help but believe that London Welsh will achieve their objectives. If Aviva Premiership survival is the ultimate result of that then it will have been another tremendous and memorable season for all at the Club. 

See the Out On The Full Photos from the launch --> here