London Welsh Amateur
Rugby union team
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London Welsh Amateur Rugby Football Club, previously known as London Welsh Druids[1] and as of 2017 London Welsh,[2] is an English amateur rugby union club based at Old Deer Park in Richmond, London. They were the amateur team of London Welsh until the professional team's liquidation in 2017.[3] The amateur team continued independently as they were considered a separate club by the Rugby Football Union.[4]
| |||
| Full name | London Welsh Amateur Rugby Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Middlesex RFU, Wales RU | ||
| Nickname(s) | Exiles, Dragons, Druids | ||
| Founded | 1990s | ||
| Location | Richmond, London, England | ||
| Ground | Old Deer Park (Capacity: 5,850 (1,000 seats)) | ||
| Chairman | Danny Griffiths | ||
| Coach(es) | Sonny Parker, Cai Griffiths, James Collins-Clarke | ||
| Captain | Courtney Maggs-Jones | ||
| League | National League 2 East | ||
| 2024–25 | Promoted from Regional 1 South Central | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www | |||
They are currently playing in National League 2 East – a tier 4 league in the English rugby union system – following promotion from Regional 1 South Central at the end of the 2024–25 season.
History
London Welsh Amateur were founded in the 1990s after London Welsh reached the top of National League 1 and decided to split the club to separate the professional wing from the community club.[5] In 2004, London Welsh Amateur were incorporated as a limited company.[6] In 2017, London Welsh were expelled from the RFU Championship and later liquidated due to debt.[3] When London Welsh were given extra time for a phoenix company to take over the club and fulfill RFU regulations, one of the conditions was that they had to show a clear separation between London Welsh and London Welsh Amateur but were unable to meet the requirements.[3] Despite this decision, it did not affect London Welsh Amateur as they were held as having a separate membership of the RFU and separate voting rights.[7]
As a result, London Welsh Amateur became the primary representatives of the London Welsh club. They also stated that they would remain amateur despite inheriting the liquidated professional club's infrastructure.[2] For their first season since London Welsh's liquidation, London Welsh Amateur appointed former Welsh international Sonny Parker as director of rugby.[8] Following the professional side's liquidation, London Welsh Amateur adopted the London Welsh name.[2]
At the end of the 2017–18 season they finished as champions of Herts/Middlesex 1 and gained promotion to London 3 North West.[9]
After the 2019–20 season was abandoned due to the coronavirus outbreak, London Welsh finished as Champions of London 2 North West and were promoted to London 1 South for 2020–21 season, which was not played due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Following the 31-17 victory away at Wimbledon, London Welsh confirm their 5th promotion in 7 seasons, completing 'Project Reset' and will return to the National Leagues for the first time in 2025-26 following the original club's liquidation in 2017.
Current standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bury St Edmunds (C) | 26 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 1128 | 659 | +469 | 22 | 4 | 108 | Promotion place |
| 2 | Oundle | 26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 940 | 713 | +227 | 21 | 1 | 106 | Promotion Play-off |
| 3 | Old Albanian | 26 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 1009 | 813 | +196 | 22 | 3 | 97 | |
| 4 | Barnes | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 738 | 598 | +140 | 15 | 5 | 86 | |
| 5 | Canterbury | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 851 | 644 | +207 | 16 | 6 | 86 | |
| 6 | Dorking | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 798 | 598 | +200 | 13 | 6 | 79 | |
| 7 | Westcombe Park | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 851 | 751 | +100 | 19 | 8 | 75 | |
| 8 | Havant | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 840 | 960 | −120 | 19 | 1 | 66 | |
| 9 | London Welsh | 26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 705 | 866 | −161 | 16 | 8 | 64 | |
| 10 | Guernsey Raiders | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 690 | 875 | −185 | 13 | 3 | 62 | |
| 11 | Esher | 26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 844 | 831 | +13 | 16 | 6 | 62 | |
| 12 | Henley Hawks | 26 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 693 | 665 | +28 | 12 | 9 | 61 | Relegation Play-off |
| 13 | Sevenoaks (R) | 26 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 743 | 900 | −157 | 12 | 5 | 49 | Relegation place |
| 14 | Oxford Harlequins (R) | 26 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 505 | 1462 | −957 | 11 | 2 | 21 |
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
- Number of matches won
- Number of matches drawn
- Difference between points for and against
- Total number of points for
- Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
- Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Honours
- Herts/Middlesex 1 champions: 2017–18
- London 3 North West champions: 2018–19
- London 2 North West champions: 2019–20
- London 1 South runners-up (promoted): 2021–22
- Regional 1 South Central champions: 2024–25