Tag: Welsh (Page 2 of 3)

Lyn Jones, the Director of Rugby of the Rugby Football Union Championship club the London Welsh has vowed to take his relegated side back to the Aviva Premiership at the first attempt next season. And the 48 year old also believes that the club being able to retain its base at Oxford is also vital to the club being able to sustain it in the future. Jones has also promised that the club plans to hold on to its best players in the next season and hence, he is confident of bouncing immediately back.

Jones mentioned that there is a lot of desire as well as passion for the club to retain its base at Oxford and hence, he hopes that the club will do it. The former Director of Rugby of the Ospreys stated that the club needs extremely strong leaders at the top of its offices in order to take the club forward and Oxford holds a key place to the future development of the club.

The Exiles moved to their current home at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford after a successful appeal after winning the RFU Championship playoff at the end of last season and moved from their old home of Deer Park. However, the hopes of the club of surviving their first season in the top flight were shot down when they were docked points for fielding an ineligible player. But the club did finish the season on a high with a 33-22 win over the Worcester Warriors and it is this victory that is giving Jones confidence ahead of the new season.

He added that it is pleasing to be leaving the Aviva Premiership with their heads held high and added they are bidding goodbye only temporarily and promised they will be back very soon.

Billy Twelvetrees has warned his Gloucester Rugby team mates that if they write off the challenge posed by the London Welsh, they will be doing so at their own peril. The centre at Kingsholm admitted that although many people had considered the new boys to the Aviva premiership as the weakest side in the division, they would not be making that mistake. The Exiles started their campaign in the Aviva Premiership with two heavy defeats in their first two encounters, almost living up to suggestions that they would become the whipping boys for the other teams.

However, since then, they have managed to turn their campaign around with two consecutive wins and The Cherry Whites centre believes that Gloucester Rugby has to be cautious in their approach. The two sides are scheduled to meet on Sunday at Oxford and the 23 year old is looking forward to stern test. Twelvetrees admitted that although The Cherry Whites know that they will start the game against The Exiles as the firm favorites, he expects his side to handle their challenge quite well; that is unless they start to take them for granted and take their foot off the pedal.

Twelvetrees knows that the test that awaits them against The Welsh at Oxford, with their stern backs and their physical approach to the game being their strong points. Twelvetrees has, however, admitted that he was surprised with The Exiles’ resurgence in their last two games.

Twelvetrees is of the opinion that any side that can win two straight games in the top flight of English rugby cannot be considered as weak and the more the other teams underestimate them, the more they will feed off them. Twelvetrees also knows that the only way to handle them physical side is with stern focus on the game.