London Welsh statement on Appeal decision

Posted on Mar 26, 2013 in London Welsh

Following the Independent Appeal Panel’s decision to uphold the five point penalty and £15,000 fine, for fielding an ineligible player, London Welsh have issued the following statement:

London Welsh RFC is extremely disappointed by the Independent Appeal Panel’s decision to uphold the five-point deduction and £15,000 fine against the club, with regard to the charge that it fielded an ineligible player, Tyson Keats, in ten Aviva Premiership matches this season.

However, the club welcomes the Panel’s decision to remove the suspended five-point penalty imposed until the end of the 2013-14 season, and believes that this action justifies its decision to appeal.

The club also believes that this cause of action was necessary to restore the good name of the London Welsh RFC, as once it became clear what had happened, the club made every effort to “remedy the situation” and did not, at any stage, deliberately attempt to deceive the RFU. A point acknowledged by the panel in their findings.

The club maintains, however, that it has ultimately been punished for the completely unnecessary fraudulent actions of one individual, whose actions the panel accepted “could not have been predicted”.

“The club is hugely disappointed by the decision of the Independent Appeal Panel to uphold the five-point deduction for this season,” said London Welsh CEO Tony Copsey.

“We are particularly disappointed for the players, who’ve given everything they can for the club, and ultimately it is they who have been punished for something completely beyond their control.

“However, there are still four games remaining in the season and the focus and efforts of the players, the coaching staff and everyone at London Welsh is now on those remaining matches.”

London Welsh RFC will be making no further comment at this time.

Tom Arscott Signs For Sale Sharks

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks have announced the signing of Tom Arscott from London Welsh. Tom (25) will join Sale Sharks at the end of the current season.

Tom previously played for Worcester,Bristol and Plymouth Albion and has also represented England at U19 and Saxons level.

Director of Rugby Steve Diamond said, “ Tom is an exciting player who can play both Full Back and Wing. He has been a regular for London Welsh this season having played 23 times and scored 4 tries. He played in both the games against us this season and I was very impressed with him and am sure he will be a great asset to us.”

London Welsh appeal hearing details

Posted on Mar 19, 2013 in London Welsh

London Welsh’s appeal against this month’s Panel of Inquiry’s decision in respect of a breach of Premiership Regulations will be heard in London on Thursday, March 21.

The club appealed against the decision to deduct five league points and fine them £15,000, with a further five point deduction suspended until the end of the 2013-14 season, for fielding an ineligible player in 10 Aviva Premiership matches this season.

The appeal will be heard at 4pm on Thursday by an independent panel of Gareth Rees QC, Jim Sturman QC and Philip Evans at the offices of Sport Resolutions, 1 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8AE.

Tiesi eager to join Premiership fight

Posted on Jan 30, 2013 in London Welsh

New recruit Gonzalo Tiesi is delighted to be back in the Aviva Premiership, and now just can’t wait to get stuck into the thick of the action for London Welsh.

The Argentina centre, 27, who was part of the side that beat Wales at the Millennium Stadium in the autumn internationals, knows what the Premiership is all about following spells at London Irish and Harlequins and is looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“I’m don’t know if I’m going to be involved or not [v Newport Gwent Dragons], but I’m looking forward to getting straight into the team and getting some game time,” said Tiesi.

“I’m very pleased to be back in the Premiership after a few years. It’s exciting times for London Welsh – it’s a club with a lot of history.

“I’m very excited about the squad; everyone has the goal of retaining the club’s Premiership position. I’m looking forward to the challenge and trying to add something to the team over the next four months to ensure the club’s Premiership place for next season.

“I’ve been following the team since I made the decision to come and they’ve been doing really well. They’ve surprised more than one team and hopefully we can keep doing that.”

Tiesi joined London Irish in 2004 from San Isidro Club before moving to Harlequins in 2008.
In his first season at the Stoop he helped the club reach the Premiership semi-finals and the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup. He joined Stade Francais in 2011.

In all, he made 40 appearances in the Premiership during his spells at London Irish and Harlequins, while also making 26 appearances in Europe in the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup.

“I had a good time in England so it was an easy decision to come back. It’s a new club, a new atmosphere and I’m looking forward to it – I’m very excited,” he said.

“I have the experience of having played here for almost four and a half seasons, so I know what the Premiership is all about. Having played in France, the Premiership is the best competition in Europe. It allows you to develop as a player and I want to keep getting better.”

Tiesi’s recall to the national side last November came over a year after his last appearance for the Pumas, when he’d picked up an injury against England at the 2011 World Cup.

His international return, however, meant he missed the business end of the Top 14 season in Argentina, with his club side San Isidro Club reaching the play-offs before missing out. victory over Wales at the Millennium Stadium, however, more than made up for that.

“That was a very good experience for me after the World Cup. It was my first international back so it was really important to me and I’ll always have a good memory of that game,” he said.

“We don’t often win at the Millennium Stadium, so it was a great experience. We took the positives out of playing against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa and it will make us a lot better.”

For now, though, Tiesi’s focus is on London Welsh.

Ross poised to bring up century for London Welsh

Posted on Jan 29, 2013 in London Welsh

A cricketer of some repute in his day, Gordon Ross will bring up a century of a different kind when he runs out for London Welsh against Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday in the LV= Cup.

The fly half, 34, has been enjoying an Indian summer of a season in the Aviva Premiership, racking up 124 points in 12 appearances and using all his experience and cunning to help the Exiles carve out four wins and occupy tenth in the table.

Saturday will be appearance number 100 for Ross in a London Welsh jersey in all competitions, with his previous 99 yielding 525 points.

“I knew I was coming up to 100 but I didn’t actually realise I was on 99 until this week,” said Ross. “I’m looking forward to Saturday now; I’ve really enjoyed my three and a half seasons here.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes at the club, both on and off the field, and the reward of getting promoted last season was outstanding.

“I’ve no plans to retire yet – the body’s feeling good. I’ve been lucky enough this season to be given the odd weekend off by Lyn [Jones – head coach] and the conditioning staff realise my age and they look after me a little bit.

“I’ve managed to keep relatively fit and healthy during my time at London Welsh and if that can continue, and I feel I can contribute on the pitch, then hopefully I can carry on for as long as both parties are happy.

“I’m not going to target 150 games – I’ll get to 100 first and then we’ll just take each game as it comes after that!”

Ross won 25 caps for Scotland, the last in 2006, and his playing career spanned Heriots FP, Edinburgh Reivers, Leeds Tykes, Castres and Saracens before arriving at Old Deer Park in 2009.

Ross has witnessed some remarkable changes in his time at the club, including the introduction of professionalism, administration and two losing Championship semi-final campaigns, before culminating in last season’s success and subsequent promotion.

“There have been massive changes over the last three and a half years that I’ve been here,” he said.

“There’s never a dull moment but in a way it brings the lads closer together, and it’s certainly worked in our favour in difficult circumstances both on and off the pitch. We’ve worked very hard as a group and we got our just rewards last season.”

Ross sat out London Welsh’s remaining two Amlin Challenge Cup games after picking up a knock on his calf against Harlequins in their Premiership meeting at the Kassam.

With the English champions having qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals as top seeds and still on course for a possible treble, Ross is aware of the size of the challenge that awaits the Exiles at the Stoop on Saturday, especially as Welsh’s last visit to Quins saw them on the receiving end of a 40-3 defeat.

“It’s going to be a tough day for us but when we played them a couple of weeks ago at the Kassam we played some very good rugby in the second half. Our challenge this weekend is to do it from the word go and not after they’ve already scored 20-odd points,” he said.

“We’ve got to start well otherwise it’s going to be a long day at the office, as we’ve found out twice this season.

“We’ve not really competed in the first 20 minutes against them. The start is going to be massive for us and if we can compete it will hopefully make the afternoon a little bit easier than it was been the last two times.

“I’ve seen Harlequins play twice in the LV= Cup this season and they’ve got the same mentality no matter who they play. If it’s a dry ball and a nice firm pitch, which I imagine it will be at the Stoop, then they’ll try and keep the ball moving.”

Defeats to Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester in the LV= Cup have left the Exiles bottom of Pool 4, but the next two weekends of action are vital says Ross if the club are to hit the ground running for their trip to Welford Road on February 3, as the Premiership run in begins.

“The Amlin Cup gave an opportunity to guys coming back from injury and who’d joined the club recently. Hopefully over the next two weekends we’ll be nice and competitive and we’ll play some good rugby that will lead us back into the Premiership at Leicester.

“Every day in training we’re working on things to try and make sure we’re getting better. We’ve a huge month ahead of us in February and we’ve got to make sure we’re as competitive as possible, get a few wins together and try and pick off one or two of the teams above us.”