William Welch is a is a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player for Newcastle Falcons

Newcastle Falcons

The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in...

 in the Aviva Premiership; his position of choice is at Openside Flanker

Flanker (rugby union)

A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...

. He is a product of the Newcastle Falcons Junior Academy and signed for the First XV in 2009 after representing Blaydon RFC

Blaydon RFC

Blaydon RFC are an English semi-professional rugby union team. They play in National League 1, having won previously National Division Three North. They play at Crow Trees, Swalwell, Tyne and Wear.- The Main Team :...

 at a National Two Level.

In July 2008, Welch represented England

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

under 18's National Rugby Union team in Argentina. He also represented England at under 19's level and was selected as part of the 32 man England under 20 elite player squad, taking part in the RBS U20 Six Nations IRB Junior World Championship.

External links

• http://www.newcastle-falcons.co.uk/
• http://www.rfu.com/News/