LONDON Welsh club captain Matt Corker says he cannot wait to be back playing at the Kassam Stadium on Sunday. The Exiles host Llanelli Scarlets in their first home pre-season match, which is also billed as a family day.

Having enjoyed a debut season in Oxford as a Premiership club, Welsh negotiated a cheaper deal to stay at the Kassam Stadium now they are back in the Championship.

“We are really grateful that we managed to secure the Kassam Stadium for another season,” said second row Corker.

“It is a fantastic stadium and we love playing there.

“Every time we played there last season, people came up to me after the game and said they are from Oxford and really enjoying having a good standard of rugby locally.

“That is what we want and is great to hear.

“The support of the local people has been amazing alongside our fans who travelled from London.”

Welsh will move all their support staff to Oxford this season and have also pledged to find a local training base.

Corker, 30, is the Exiles’ longest serving player, having joined the club in 2007. He has seen plenty of highs and lows since then, but believes they can have a great future in Oxford.

“I feel very lucky to have been at the club for a long time,” said Corker.

“We used to say last year that if you made a film of it all, it would be a blockbuster.”

He added: “We are really keen to keep the Kassam Stadium as our home and think it can be a real strong hold for us.”