Brian Price and John Dawes, two of the greatest players and most successful captains in Welsh rugby history, were together again at Caldicot RFC on Saturday to remember the good old days and hope for a brighter future for London Welsh. Owen Morgan had a chat with both for Dai Sport.

As the two white-haired gentlemen intently studied the match programme many of those present wouldn’t have given them a second glance. But for those of a certain age, the scene was a trip down memory lane.

Two of the greatest captains in Welsh rugby history – Brian Price and John Dawes – were deep in conversation on the touchline as Caldicot RFC hosted  London Welsh in a pre-season friendly.

The two men had played with and against each other during the halcyon days of Newport and London Welsh.

During the 1960s Price had captained his beloved Newport to victory over the mighty All Blacks, as well as leading Wales to two Triple Crowns.

Dawes, of course, was the brilliant centre and innovative captain who led London Welsh during their all-conquering glory days of the 1960 and 70s, before doing the same for Wales during the 1971 Grand Slam winning season and the British Lions on the historic series winning tour of New Zealand later the same year.

Dawes went on to coach Wales through the glory days of the 1970s and took charge of the 1977 British Lions in New Zealand

Now the two native East Walians, who had travelled  together on Wales’s first Southern Hemisphere tour of Africa in 1964, were back together on home turf at Caldicot’s comparatively modest but hugely welcoming Longfellow Road ground on Saturday.

They had been reminiscing about the days when a visit by London Welsh to Wales meant full houses at grounds like Stradey Park, St Helen’s, Pontypool Park, The Gnoll and Price’s own Rodney Parade.

Still an imposing figure, the former giant second row Price said: “It is a bit different to the old days. I was only just talking to John and comparing the sides from then and now. 

“I think the last time we played each other was Easter Monday back in 1969 at Rodney Parade, there would have been about 15 to 20,000 there.

“London Welsh were full of the likes of JPR Williams, Gerald Davies, John himself and John Taylor.

“It was the Easter Monday before Wales played England the following Saturday and the Welsh Rugby Union gave all the London Welsh and Newport internationals special dispensation to play. JPR tackled me under the posts, did my knee in and I couldn’t play against England.

“They were a terrific side all through the sixties and seventies. When I was in college at St Lukes in Exeter, there was always a notice on the board there from about June from London Welsh saying  ‘any rugby players who want to come up to London to teach, we guarantee you a job and you can play for us’. They were great days.”

Those days are far behind the Old Deer Park side now. However, this is no tale of how the mighty have fallen, more of how they are rising from the ashes.

The club’s professional team was expelled from the Championship and relegated to the ninth level of English rugby in January 2017 after failing to satisfy the RFU criteria for Championship rugby.

Last May, a five-year plan was launched to try and get London Welsh back up through the leagues as an amateur club.

Last season they made the first step of that long journey by winning promotion from London SE Division Herts and Middlesex Division One.

The club has re-invented itself and gone back to its roots as an amateur community-based club, hence the trip to Wales to take on another community club with a strong link to London Welsh.

When former London Welsh skipper and Caldicot boy Mike Powell asked his former club to come down to play his home town side, the Exiles were only too happy to oblige, not only bring their First XV but also their Druids second string.

London Welsh coach Cai Griffiths said: “With the ties of Powelly being from this club and playing for us, I thought it was an opportunity to start something for pre-season going forward, coming down and playing a Welsh club. 

“Obviously we’ve got a lot of Welsh players playing in the team, we’ve got Welsh speakers and the fans are half Welsh as well so it’s great to get back to Wales and play a game here.

“It feels like we’ve got back to basics, we’re  a local club, even if we are in Richmond in the middle of London itself. But it feels like a village type of atmosphere. We’ve got great supporters, we average about 450 at home games.

“The old guard, the ones who have been in the club for a long, long time, they feel it’s has gone back to how it was in the golden years of London Welsh. 

“There are so many legends within the club itself, we’re very lucky and the players need to understand that when they are wearing that jersey, it’s not just another jersey, it’s London Welsh.

“So it’s great to be part of that. We’ve got a very strong mini-rugby section which is coming through and an under 23 section  as well.”

The club still wants to be successful on the pitch, even if it’s not at the standard they once were.

The former Ospreys prop added: “We’re looking at promotion, we’re making no bones about it, we’re looking for four promotions in five years, we’re one in and we’ve got another three to go. 

“The squad’s in a good place, we’ve got a couple of bumps today, so we’ll have to review that before our game against Staines on Thursday, but we’re very confident going into the season.”

However, on the day the home side, who play in the WRU National League Division Two East, ran out victors by 26-10, despite the visitors racing into a 10-0 lead.

Caldicot team manager and assistant backs coach Jordan Bajjada was delighted with the victory: “London Welsh are very strong, very structured and very organised. They had some good boys out in the backs.

“I think we were a bit shocked to start with, we expected a tough game but I don’t think we expected them to come at us that hard. So once we settled down, we were happy that we got into the way we wanted to play and scored a few tries.”

Bajjada said it was a huge occasion for the club, which like London Welsh, is trying to develop young players and play a strong role in the heart of the community.”It’s massive for us, London Welsh is a big, big name  to draw the crowd in and they have got a good following themselves. 

“It’s huge for us as a club. We’re a little bit out of the way where we are so we’re trying to entice people down here to get involved, with the kids and all the families, so we’re really grateful to London Welsh for coming here.”

And London Welsh president Dawes, for one, was delighted to be in Caldicot. His club may not be where they once were in terms of success on the pitch success, and some of the venues they now visit may be unfamiliar, but he is delighted the name lives on and the team is heading in the right direction.

Proudly wearing his London Welsh blazer and tie, Dawes said: “It’s going to be a struggle to get back to where we were. It might take a long time, but all of us in London would like to see it. Time will tell.

“One good thing is, I have never been to Caldicot before and it’s been good to come here. It brings us to new clubs and I enjoy that.

“It’s different to when we used to come down and play at places like Stradey, but It’s a nice atmosphere, an impressive clubhouse and a great set up.”

And there was the added pleasure for Dawes of watching his grandson make his debut in the centre for the Exiles, all those years after his famous grandfather made his bow in the famous red shirt. 

If ever there was an omen that a famous old club’s future was in safe hands it’s having a Dawes family member playing in the centre.