What's Occurrin'?

By Dragons' Den
August 3 2011

Want to play 1st team rugby in the heart of Richmond? London Welsh Amateur RFC is now recruiting for players. With the Amateurs’ 1st team newly promoted to London 3 NW, we’re looking to bolster our playing squad to achieve our 3rd season of back-to-back promotions. If you are looking for serious rugby with an equally committed social scene, then please join us at London Welsh Amateur RFC.

Please accept this mesage as a warm welcome from all of us here at London Welsh, and as an invitation to join us at this historic and well respected club, which is open to all.

At Old Deer Park in Richmond, you will find a level of rugby to suit you, a group of friendly players that don’t take themselves too seriously but have a genuine passion for the game and a real pride in pulling on the famous jersey worn by so many legends throughout the years.

With four adult teams, a women’s squad, Colts, Youth and Minis, a thriving amateur set-up is flourishing hand-in-hand with the professional side of the club.

The senior amateur teams have developed a style of rugby which is fast and skilful, committed to allowing players’ talents to shine. Having excelled in the local Merit Leagues for the last few seasons, the Amateur First XV entered the ‘leagues proper’ last season, in Herts & Middlesex 1. Our exciting brand of rugby has proven successful, earning promotion to London 3 NW in our first season having lost only a handful of games over the last three years.

The teams are made up from a talented playing squad of many different sizes, ages and backgrounds, from both hemispheres and with a large contingent of Welsh lads who have pursued a career in London but do not want to give up on their passion for the sport they love, and are adept at. Many have played representative levels throughout their rugby careers, with two of the current members selected for the Welsh Exiles this season.

We offer a real balance between your work and social lives; training once a week and not holding players to ransom if they have to miss a week, can’t make every training session or choose to get married or go on holiday during rugby season...! We understand that as much as we’d like to be on the pitch and in the bar afterwards with our teammates, irritatingly, sometimes life gets in the way.

As well as a successful first XV, the Dragons are one of the better teams in the Middlesex Merit League, made up of those contesting for first XV selection, as well as some younger up-and-comers and a few older, wiser heads. The world-renowned Occies is made up of quality players who prefer not train, take a Barbarian approach to their games and supply the songs. The Vets are the statesmen of the playing membership, with a philosophy of giving the liver and kidneys as hard a work out in the bar after the game, as the rest of the body gets on the pitch. There are several tours and ‘away days’ organised each season, which have etched London Welsh RFC in the memories of most of Eastern Europe and the majority of the UK and Channel Islands.

The world famous club is the perfect ‘home away from home’ for any with a Welsh background who find themselves in London. It is the premier venue within England to watch Wales play, with an atmosphere on international days to rival the Millennium. 30 minutes outside the City, London Welsh is located a stone’s throw from the bars and clubs of Richmond and many a Saturday evening is spent admiring the scenery at the riverside pubs.

As well as the rugby, we offer a readymade social network where you will be welcomed and judged on your banter as much as your talent on the field. You will find like-minded people in similar situations to you; in fact you’ll probably know a few faces already.

We look forward to welcoming you to the club soon and buying you a beer, but in the meantime please take a look at our website www.londonwelshrfc.com or call Ian Horgan, Director of Rugby on 07767 312625 or email: ian.horgan@londonwelshrfc.com, Gareth Streeter, Head Coach on 07711 460585. If you’d rather just chat to one of the players, give Daf a call on 07919 102716.

Croeso i Llundain, Croeso i ysbrya Cymru yu Llundain.

The Board
London Welsh Amateur RFC