Exiles Double Act With A Five-year Masterplan

NICK VERDIER meets the new men charged with leading London Welsh’s revival.

The John Dawes suite at Old Deer Park is adorned with memorabilia from the bygone age when London Welsh were the finest club side in the land, if not the world.

They boasted luminaries of the game – 43 British Lions in total including JPR, Merve the Swerve, John Taylor and Dawes himself. But that all seems a long, long time ago as the club embark on their recovery mission from the depths of Herts and Middlesex 1, the ninth level of English rugby.

The club’s dalliance with Premiership Rugby finally cost them. Big time. After years of financial troubles, the sword of Damocles hanging over them came down on January 24, forcing the dissolution of the professional team.

Seven months on and 31-cap Welsh Grand Slam winner Sonny Parker and former Ospreys prop Cai Griffiths are the new men in charge, determined to lead the club back to “where it belongs”.

The club maintained their amateur side, as well as supporting a highly popular minis section on Sunday mornings, and the ambition to take the club back to the top is clear in new leaders Parker and Griffiths.

“I came very close to going back to New Zealand but Pete Lowe, the club’s treasurer who is part of the new board, called me and asked me to hang around,” said Parker, the newly appointed director of rugby and only man remaining from the professional set-up.

“A couple of month later, he told me about the board’s ambitions for the club and he asked me to take charge of the team.

“I accepted straight away. I just had to stay and help London Welsh build. We want to bring the club back to where it belongs.