The London Welsh Rugby Club Podcast

In this episode, Cai sits down to chat to Gareth about winning Regional South Central 1 and getting promoted into National 2. We speak about the preparation that went into the season and the confidence the players had after beating Nat 2 opposition in pre season. How important it was to get the right start away at Bracknell and the relentless nature of the season. The club only dropped 3 points all season and yet they only won promotion with 1 game to go. We chat about the celebrations; all of them!!. We also discuss what the players are up to post season and Cai gives his own tribute to those players who have left us at the end of the season. He also talks about the special atmosphere at ODP and thanks the incredible work done by the volunteers at the club. Roll on National 2. Enjoy.

Not many people will know this; but Tom started his senior rugby career at London Welsh where he played for both the Druids and the 1st XV after a couple of seasons in the Colts. His dad had captained the club in the 70's and amassed over 230 appearances for London Welsh.We start the podcast discussing the state of Welsh rugby and how Tom transitioned from playing rugby to a career as a Media Pundit and Commentator. We chat abut Flats and Shanks, his podcast with David Flatman, plus his new shiny one called Stick to Rugby.Tom had one season of senior rugby at London Welsh before going to play for Saracens for 4 years and then Cardiff Blues where he tasted European success. A fantastic career with Wales, with 20 tries in 70 games for his country and he is also a British & Irish Lion as he went on the 2005 tour to New Zealand.Enjoy

Haydn has made a massive contribution to London Welsh success off the pitch since he joined the Board when Project Reset was launched. We hear about how he and Pete Leyborne worked together to bring the Careers Hub to life and how they launched it to the players. Haydn gives us some great examples of how the Hub has helped the players excel off the pitch and how we use it to attract new players to the club. A Neath boy through and through, who came to London Welsh in the early 70's for a visit, before he settled in the area in the early 90's and never looked back. He became Chair of the Supporters Club when we had a professional team and then joined the Board where he has impacted so many of the players and their careers.Enjoy

Tom has only been with London Welsh for under 2 seasons, but boy what an impression he has made on and off the pitch. If would be fair to say he leads the charge in both and is very popular with our supporters with his all court play.He came to London Welsh from Manly Marlins and we get to hear about the Aussie Union pathway and the link this club has with that club. Tom also takes us through his route to London Welsh and just demonstrates the amount of work behind the scenes our amazing volunteers do for these players. We hear about the stories post match, his tour to France and a Christmas in Wales, but what hits homes is how the squad took Tom under their wings straight away and he instantly became one of the boys.Enjoy.

Our guest this week is Morgan Browne, a huge part of the London Welsh family.He joined the Little Wizards, aged 5 with the rest of his family and has been a player ever since. Morgan loved his minis and youth rugby at the club, especially the tours he went on in Wales or to Europe. He played for Hampton School and was captain in his final year where he led the team out at Twickenham and played against a certain Manu Tuilagi.He attended Cardiff Uni and joined the rugby club where he captained the Freshers in the Varsity. Rugby was taken very seriously at Cardiff, and he played mostly in the 1’s and 2’s; but also found other passions and was quite keen on his drama. Post uni he came to London and played a bit for some local clubs, until Lloyd Davies called him and the rest is history. He played 3-4 years for the Druids before reset and then had about 19 matches with the club when Cai and Sonny were the coaching team. Morgan had to retire due to concussion and he explains quite clearly how the club sat him down and explained the situation to him and put him first.An engaging, honest and a lovely human, who will continue to help this club in the future. Enjoy

Jacob joined London Welsh after the Covid outbreak when he moved to London to work in advertising. A Monmouth boy through and through, who’s first love was initially football until he was taken to Abergavenny RFC at the age of 10. He then played all the way through the age groups, even when he attended Monmouth Boys School where he played against some of the best schools in England. Post school and some time in Australia, he attended Liverpool University where he captained their rugby team in his final year. He had quite a unique experience playing for Abergavenny in the Principality stadium and is keen to play for then again with all his brothers. He gives a glowing reference to how the Careers Hub at the club helped him settle into working life in London and how the club has become a home from home for him in London.We also touch on what it was like growing up knowing your dad had been captain of Wales and then always on the TV during the 6 Nations.A great guest to mark the 100th episode. Enjoy

Dan only played 9 matches for London Welsh when he was 18 and we were playing in London North West 2, which was at Level 8 in the English rugby pyramid. Brought up in Wales, having played club rugby for Llandovery and Brecon as a Mins/Youth player; he was then was part of the Ospreys Academy and capped at Wales at u16. Ospreys didn't sign him at 18 and Dan decided to join Ealing Trailfinders academy and their Brunel University programme. It was during this programme that he came on loan to London Welsh in his first term and then went to Blackheath in that same season. He subsequently went back to Blackheath after Covid and was also sent on loan to Rosslyn Park. He now play rugby in the Championship for Cornish Pirates and loving life in Cornwall. A really interesting chat with a very mature man, who is very ambitious about his rugby. Enjoy

Billy Moss played for London Welsh for 3 season between 2012 and 2015. He always played front row and loved playing for Tonbridge School and also Tunbridge Juddians. He was never picked up by any of the Academies, but played for County and then a scout mentioned he would play for England U18, which he subsequently did at all age grades. He then played plenty of rugby at University and was then signed by Bath on a 3 year contract. He was loaned out by Bath to a couple of clubs and then came to London Welsh. We hear some great stories of how he settled in at Welsh and found his place, plus some shocking travel stories about those European ties.Post career, he tried a few roles until he got into Wealth Management and is a paretner in his own firm. He also loves cooking, especially outdoor cooking and you can follow his social media accounts on instagram and TikTok, as he is on there as @BigBaldChef. Enjoy

Tommy is the current Backs Coach for the Performance squad at London Welsh. In this episode we discuss the current form of the team and we build towards the biggest game in Community rugby this weekend, with the top of the table clash between two ex Championship teams, with Jersey and London Welsh.. Everyone at the club is excited for the fixture and we are hoping for a big turnout from our supporters. We also discuss his rugby journey from Sales, Wasps, Jersey, Leicester, London Irish and then some stints, in France, Italy and Japan. Tommy’s career demonstrates the precarious nature of pro sport, but also the opportunity it can give you to explore and experience the world. A fascinating insight into a career of someone who has played top level rugby for over 10 years and is now giving the benefit of that to the London Welsh squad. Enjoy.

Allen is a Welshman and London Welsh man through and through. Played for Risca all the way through school and then decided to get out of the Wales bubble to further both his academic and rugby education up in Newcastle. This is the time when Newcastle Falcons where at the top of the Premiership with the help of the backing of Sir John Hall's investment and full of International players, like Johnny Wilkinson, Tom May, Doddie Weir and Gary Armstrong. He enjoyed his 5 years there, but was asked to come back to Wales to have a crack at getting in the Wales squad and signed for Celtic Warriors. That didn't work out, so he had 6 months playing for Gordon's in Australia and some time at Henley, where he first encountered playing at London Welsh. He then had a conversation with Adrian and realised he could play top quality rugby at Old Deer Park and begin his career in the city. He played under Adrian, Martin Jones and Danny Wilson before deciding to study for an MBA to further his career. What you hear in this interview, is how deep the friendships Allen made at London Welsh forged by training on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by long bus trips to Cornwall or up North, where you really get to know your team mates. A real pleasure to hear from Allen. Enjoy

Our guest this week is our top point scorer since project reset, Osian McAvoy.  Osian is a Llandeilo RFC graduate having played with their team all the way to seniors and even invites himself on their 150th anniversary tour to Beziers.  He represented Scarlets at U16 and U18 and had a training week with Wales age grade, before deciding to get out of Wales to experience life and prioritise his education at Reading University.  Whilst there, he played a few matches for Rams in Nat 2, before graduating and finding himself at London Welsh post Covid.  Osian has been an ever present since then and has found a real home from home at the club, making many lifelong friends along the way.  On top of this, he takes us through how the London Welsh careers hub helped him find his next role and set him up with a mentor from the club. A great player who has been a big part of our success. Enjoy

In this weeks' episode we chat to former London Welsh and Leicester player Dai (David) Williams. Dai comes from great sporting stock with a strong athletic background from both sides of his parents family. He was raised in Leicestershire and made his way into the Leicester team full of seasoned internationals. A job move to Brighton a few years later and he came to London Welsh and played here for 7 seasons. Injury, form, selection; meant he wasn't always in the 1st XV, but if you wore a red shirt you were playing for the club. Post rugby, he played Vets, formed 'The Martini Club', a huge part of the Voyagers and coordinated the London Welsh former players lunch. A true London Welsh rugby man and a top fella to boot. Enjoy. If any former players want to get on the mailing list for future lunches; please get in touch with Dai. daiwilli@sky.com

Our guest this week is former London Welsh back row specialist, Mike Denbee. Mike born and bred in Somerset and was late to the game as a teenager; worked his way to the Weston Super Mare Colts, which helped him transition to senior rugby at the club. He was doing this whilst studying for a degree at Plymouth, but in his last year decide to have a crack at playing at Plymouth Albion with Graham Dawe in charge. He was offered a professional contract, but then he went on to play in Spain and Birmingham Solihull, before finding himself at London Welsh. Three great seasons at the club, especially the Promotion one with Lyn Jones. Mike quit professional rugby at the right time for him and then managed playing semi pro and his career in insurance for 5 years before he retired. Some great stories from Mike here and a honest assessment of his rugby journey. Enjoy

Our guest this week is former London Welsh full back Matt Vines. Born and bred in Wales, he made the move to St Mary's University in London and found himself at London Welsh at 19. Matt was selected by Mike Gosling for a few first team appearances in that first season when they were promoted to National 3. Matt tells us about the Clive Griffiths era and the Semi professional approach of the club and a really funny story about a new signing getting injured!!! Matt loved the environment and the group of players that Adrian Davies signed for the club and had his most successful spell in that first season in 2000. He explain why he left London Welsh to go to Rugby Lions and then comes back again and loved the tours that the players went on. A real honest account of a much loved player at London Welsh, with plenty of stories to boot. Enjoy.

Our guest this week is Academy Award winning producer James Gay-Rees producer of films including AMY, Senna and Diego Maradonna. Box to Box Films is an award documentary production company based in London, Paris and Los Angeles and they are the team behind Formula 1:Drive to Survive, Break Point, Full Swing, Unchained and the recently released SIX NATIONS:FULL CONTACT. James grew up in Richmond and Twickenham and played Mini rugby at London Welsh and has fond memories of watching the senior side in the 70's playing at Old Deer Park. We discuss his journey from Minis to top Documentary maker and the ins and outs of the new behind the scenes 6 Nations series. Very engaging chap, who would love to reconnect with London Welsh. There may even be a film in it. 😉 Enjoy

Morlais has been a player, team manager and supporter of London Welsh for 59 years. Brought up in Mynnydd Careg and wasn't allowed to play rugby until he left school. He played for Kidwelly RFC whilst in Wales and then made the move to Notting Hill. You will not believe which club he played for first, before he made the move to London Welsh in 1965. Played for 20 years across the Extra A's, A's, Dragons and Druids, before stepping into team management for the club. Morlais was appointed 1st team Manager in 1993 and he didn't miss a match until he retired from the role in 2007. We chat about tours as a player and a team manager, plus how he didn't let cancer beat him. A Man who has seen it all at the club and who has made so many lifelong friends at London Welsh. Enjoy

Our guest this week is Ben Whitehouse, WRU Professional Referee. A busy official who has just been been away for two rounds of European Cup duty as a referee and TMO; and is getting ready for the 6 Nations. We discuss what the Word Cup was like as part of the whole officiating squad and his role within it. We learn about his refereeing journey and get to understand who his role models are. A young referee with lots of experience; becoming more prominent in the International arena. Enjoy.

Our guest this week is former British and Irish Lion and Wales Scrum Half, Mike Phillips. Mike gives his tribute on the loss of JPR; a true Wales, Lions and London Welsh Legend. We discuss his forthcoming appearance at London Welsh dinner on Feb 9th as part of the club's England vs Wales weekend. We also chat about what he is doing now that he lives in Dubai, plus we spend some time reflecting on his media role during the Rugby World Cup and look forward to the 6 Nations. Enjoy. Tickets for the Dinner are available on www.londonwelshrugby.club/

Our guest this week is former Premiership Hooker, Dan George. We discuss the many sliding doors moments of rugby and what rugby has given him and continues to give him as he enjoys coaching at Old Albanians and Ealing Trailfinders Academy. He started life in Wales, representing his country at U16, U18 and U21, whilst representing the Scarlets and playing for Llandovery College. He moved to London Welsh at the age of 21, playing over 90 matches across the 5 seasons and had his most consistent year; the year the club won promotion under Lyn Jones. This is a real honest account about the ups and downs of life of a professional rugby player, who went on and played at Gloucester, Worcester, Blackheath, Bedford, London Scottish and Chinnor. Enjoy

Our guest this week is Senior Men's Coach and Head Coach of Druids, Andrew Evans. Andy was late to the game of rugby, only taking it up in West Scotland at the age of 17; but there was plenty of rugby pedigree in his family. He started life on the wing and post school found himself working as a Coach for the Scottish Rugby Union. He was meant to go into the Army at 19, but decided to loved coaching so much and went to Wales to get a degree in Rugby Coaching. Post University, he landed a role as Community Coach at London Scottish and then came across to London Welsh to train and play for the club as a Hooker. He then got involved with coaching the U18's and that then developed into his current role. We discuss his role at Imperial College and we preview this weekends' London Welsh U20 clash with Richmond. Enjoy