London Welsh skipper backs top-flight dream

London Welsh captain Jon Mills has underlined the Exiles’ desire to become an Aviva Premiership club.

London Welsh captain Jon Mills has underlined the Exiles’ desire to become an Aviva Premiership club.

Mills and company will take a 16-point lead into next Wednesday’s Championship final second leg against Cornish Pirates following an impressive 37-21 success in Penzance on Wednesday night, with Scotland’s Gordon Ross on the scoresheet with a drop goal. But the far bigger prize of a Premiership place will elude them, subject to any successful appeal or even possible court action.

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The Rugby Football Union ratified the findings of an independent report that identified various London Welsh failures to meet Premiership minimum standards. These included not having primacy of tenure at their nominated Premiership ground – Oxford United’s 12,500-capacity Kassam Stadium – where the second leg against Pirates will take place.

Welsh, whose chairman Bleddyn Phillips is a partner with the law firm Clifford Chance, have 14 days to lodge an appeal, and that process could soon get underway. As things stand, though, Premiership bottom club Newcastle will remain among the elite next term with no promotion from the second tier.

“We all aspire to get to the Premiership – we want to get London Welsh to the Premiership,” Mills said.

“That is why we are here, that is why we are professionals. We want to play at the top table. London Welsh is a great club and should be there [in the Premiership]. We are a good team.”