London Welsh: Enter the Dragon...and bring your chequebook

As Worcester Warriors’ Andy Goode and Pat Sanderson patrolled the touchline at London Welsh’s Old Deer Park ground last Sunday, the gulf between Premiership and Championship rugby union became startlingly apparent to me.

Premiership regulars, Worcester, are currently masquerading in the First Division, albeit six points clear at the top.

Welsh gave the Warriors a good run for their money on that chilly afternoon in Kew and could well have won, were it not for a walk-in intercept try. The point is, Welsh looked mighty close to beating a Premiership (in all but current standing) team.

But if a club like London Welsh does not have, say, the multi-millionaire inventor of the combi-boiler as its chairman and backer (like Worcester), how can it attract the investment required to move into a Premiership stadium, attracting Premiership crowds being entertained by international stars?

London Welsh is a club that belongs in the Premiership. They have fantastic talent in the team with the likes of Josh Drauniniu and Aled Thomas. Indeed, “London Welsh have provided more British Lions than any other club, including 7 in one tour in 1971” the club proudly boasts on its website. Before the game last Sunday, Worcester head coach Richard Hill said Welsh are genuine promotion contenders this season.

So why isn’t this club, based in Richmond, the heartland of the English rugby, with a larger rugby community than you can shake a kicking tee at, with players like John Dawes, John Taylor and JPR Williams in its archives, and ground sharing potential with Brentford FC’s 20,000 capacity Griffin Park, in the Premiership already?

London Welsh is a club crying out for investment. From a sponsors’ perspective, it has everything going for it. Big names (Phil Greening is head coach), great community engagement opportunities, a spiral kick away from Twickenham, on the flight path (surely an obvious attraction for airliners?) and arguably the game’s most impressive heritage.

It’s a question of a sponsor recognising the potential in London Welsh. What a fantastic opportunity for a sponsor to be involved at the start of the club’s journey! A chance to lay solid foundations with the club and partner with Welsh on their road to the Aviva Premiership. A much better story (and ROI) than simply jumping on the bandwagon if and when the club is promoted and paying a higher sponsorship price.

In the same way a powerful Number 8 steers a scrum, London Welsh needs the business world’s Imanol Harinordoquy at its base.

Oliver Druttman