London Welsh fight on for Premiership place

The ongoing saga as to whether London Welsh can claim a place at rugby's top table next season seems as if it will continue long after tonight's final whistle was blown.

The second-leg of their Championship Play-off match against Cornish Pirates at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford may be irrelevant, if the RFU have their way.

The 29-20 win, for an overall aggregate victory, saw the Old Deer Park side earn the right to play in the Premiership - or so you might think. 

Pic (c) walesonline.co.uk

But the RFU decided on 23 May that London Welsh would not be eligible for promotion, after hearing the findings of an independent audit, requested by the London Welsh club.

The audit was requested after the RFU had deemed that the London Welsh club did not meet the Minimum Standards Criteria for playing in the Aviva Premiership as set by the Professional Game Board.

Their Old Deer Park ground in Richmond is unfit to hold Premiership rugby. The club attempted to work around this by arranging a ground-sharing deal with Oxford United, to play at the Kassam Stadium.

Despite this deal, the independent audit turned down this opportunity, claiming that primacy of tenure was one of several issues.

Another issue was that the club's back-up venue of Brentford FC's Griffin Park, was over 30 miles from the first option.

That in itself reeks of irony, in that Griffin Park lies only 3 miles away from Old Deer Park, when the club themselves are prepared to relocate 50 miles away in Oxford.

The final decision now lies in the hands of solicitors, and the bargaining carried out in the corridors of power. But really, what would a move 50 miles away from its traditional home mean to the club? 

The play-off match tonight certainly attracted what appeared to be a sell-out crowd to the Kassam, as the issue has galvanised a lot of support, but it has made for an interesting talking point.

Consider this - how far would you want your club to move just so they could play a couple of seasons of top flight sport? And would London Welsh then return to Richmond once their spell at the top is over?