The London Welsh Rugby Club Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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 Nigel. Nigel came to London Welsh in 1979 and either played or coached at the club for over 19 years. He takes us through his journey, plus all the tours the club went on during his time there. Nigel had offers to go and play elsewhere; but this was the only club for him. We hear about the escapades the 'Martini Club' get up to and what lifelong friendships he has made during his time here. Nigel chats about his time at Llandovery College and what a hot bed of talent it was and still is. A true gent, who has been chair of the Voyagers since 2006 and has plenty of stories to entertain you. Enjoy.

In our launch episode we hear from the Club Chairman, Danny Griffiths. He takes us through his background with the club and how the current situation is affecting planning for the new season and why he is called 'The Rev'.

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A couple of guests this week. Our main guest is Sam, who joined London Welsh at the beginning of Project Reset and was a big character in the squad for the two seasons he played for the club. A very proud Northerner, who played some tough rugby in Yorkshire, who also escaped the UK to travel and to ski. Sadly work curtailed his LW journey, but he still turns out for the Vets and is often at ODP on match days with the family supporting the club. We are also joined by 1st team player Gareth Lewis to see what's happening inside the camp. Enjoy

Our guest this week is former London Welsh Scrum Half, Rob Lewis. Rob was brought up in Abergavenny and went to senior school in Hereford where he grew to love rugby. He signed professional terms with the Dragons and was loaned out the some Welsh Premiership clubs to get experience before he made his regional debut. Some 7's rugby for Wales and then Danny Wilson signed him for London Welsh. 8 years at London Welsh winning 3 trophies and experiencing a couple of relegations, makes this podcast a fascinating listen. Enjoy.

Our guest this week is Club Captain Adam Nixon. Adam was born in the Midlands and was part of both Leicester Tigers and Worcester Warriors Academies before he went to Australia to play rugby in his gap year. 4 years at Leeds University, where he played National 1 rugby; before he escaped to Guernsey to start his career in financial services and to play for the island team. 2 years of great fun for young Adam, meant he had to come to London to work and found himself at CS Stags with a great bunch of mates. Post pandemic, he fancied a change and came to London Welsh and has never looked back. A fascinating insight on our club and why he choose to come to London Welsh and why he loves it so much. Enjoy

In this weeks' pod, we hear from former player James Roberts, now Sports Broadcaster as he takes us through his documentary that he has made about London Welsh, called Dragons in Exile. We hear about his rugby background and all the support he received from Cardiff Met as he pursued his Masters in Sports Broadcasting. James came to London Welsh and was with us for two years during Covid; so his game time was limited and then cut short through injury. He still benefitted greatly from the `Careers Hub at London Welsh and felt the advice given has helped shape his career to date. He is now an active Stadium Announcer, Commentator at many sports event around the world and we expect many more things from James, once people get to see the film he has made. We also catch up with Osian McAvoy on the club's season to date, his thoughts on the top of the table clash with Havant and why the squad for this season is tighter than ever. Enjoy.

In this weeks' episode we hear from London Welsh Scrum Half, Hywel Williams. He takes us through his brief thoughts on the Rugby World Cup; his trip to Nantes with many of the players and his thoughts on the season to date. We then have Rugby Paper journalist, Brendan Gallagher and former Wales international Adrian Davies looking at how the teams have performed during the group stages and we give our predictions on who will make the Semi Finals. Enjoy