HEAD coach Rowland Phillips has committed his future to London Welsh by signing a new deal with the Oxford-based club.

The 49-year-old replaced Justin Burnell in March, having initially joined the Exiles as defence coach in November 2014.

While performances have improved under Phillips, relegated Welsh are still winless after 20 rounds of the Aviva Premiership.

Phillips, who spent two years at the Exiles as a player between 1997 and 1998, is delighted to continue as head coach.

He said: "I'm excited about the challenge of guiding the club back to the Aviva Premiership and we have already begun planning for next season.

"Against Leicester Tigers we fielded 11 players in our starting line up committed to the club for next season, with six more on the bench, and that bodes well for next season’s Championship campaign.

"We are building a strong competitive squad for next season."

The Exiles have re-signed 13 players who were out of contract, including fly half Olly Barkley, from their current squad, while they have already brought in nine new faces for next year's Greene King IPA Championship campaign.

Director of rugby Steve Lewis is looking forward to further improvement under Phillips' leadership.

He continued: "In his short time as head coach of London Welsh we have seen a massive upturn in performances on the pitch and there is a renewed energy about the squad.

"Rowland is a vastly experienced coach and as a former London Welsh player he understands the club.

"We have no doubt that Rowland is the right man to lead London Welsh back to the Aviva Premiership."