London Welsh’s new head coach Justin Burnell is confident that the Exiles will be a competitive force in next season’s Greene King IPA Championship.

New head coach Burnell believes that the Exiles, who will play their home Championship fixtures at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford, will be very competitive.

The club have been able to keep hold of a number of its marquee players from last season’s Premiership campaign, and they’ve augmented that core with players with experience at the top end of the game and some emerging talent.

“We still have a few more gaps to fill, but it’s shaping up into a really exciting squad,” said Burnell. “The Welsh squad will also include two members of England’s IRB Junior World Championship winning team – Nathan Morris and Alec Hepburn – who join Exiles on loan from London Wasps.

“We’re very grateful to Dai Young and London Wasps.”

Although this will be Burnell’s first experience of coaching in the Championship, he developed a good understanding of the league during his time at the Cardiff Blues.

On the coaching front, Burnell will be assisted next season by former Scotland fly half Gordon Ross, who will be starting his fifth season at London Welsh.

“The on-field and off-field approach at London Welsh has been a massive breath of fresh air,” said Burnell.

LONDON WELSH'S SQUAD

Backs

Joe Ajuwa, Rhys Crane, Alex Davies, Ollie Frost, Seb Jewell, James Lewis, Rob Lewis, Tom May, Sonny Parker, Will Robinson, Gordon Ross, Nick Scott, Seb Stegmann, Hudson Tonga’iha.

Forwards

Rob Andrew, Daniel Browne, Peter Browne, Matt Corker, Kevin Davis, Mike Denbee, Peter Edwards, Cai Griffiths, Alec Hepburn, Carl Kirwan, Nathan Morris, Billy Moss, Ben Pienaar, Richard Thorpe, James Tideswell, Andy Titterrell, Nathan Trevett, Ben West.