Championship_club_London_Welsh_ are_set_to_go_into_liquidation_because_of_an_"unsustainable"_fi-nancial_situation. 

They were issued with a second request for liquidation by HM Revenue & Customs in October and did not receive the proposed investment.

London Welsh now hopes to reform as a semi-professional side in 2017, playing at its current Old Deer Park ground.

The club may continue to play during the clearance process, but 20 points will be deducted.

They must face Doncaster in the British and Irish Cup on Saturday, but it is not yet known if the match will go ahead.

A spokesman for the Rugby Football Union said: "The RFU is working with the club to find a way to meet their matches this season."

The club had a liquidation petition dismissed in September after agreeing an acquisition with a US-based investment group, but the deal was never completed.

Founded in 1885, the club still has the record for most of the players selected in a British and Irish Lions team, when seven were chosen for the 1971 tour to New Zealand.

The exiles were in the Premiership as recently as the 2014-15 season when they were based at Oxford's Kassam Stadium but were relegated after losing all 22 matches.

"Due to a £ 1.7m playing budget and doors in games with a minimum of 400, the club's current business model is totally unsustainable," said President Gareth Hawkins.

"Having to break the news to 40 staff members yesterday was extremely difficult.

"In the New Year, it is the hope and intention of the board that London Welsh will be able to return to play at Old Deer Park.

"However, first it will be necessary to change the business model of the club to a semi-professional configuration and form a new company, and then raise 300,000 pounds sterling so that the club can regain a position within the Championship."

Analysis

Chris Jones, reporter for the BBC Radio 5 live rugby union

This is a sad day for one of Britain's oldest and most famous rugby clubs, but a healthy lesson from the harsh financial realities of professional rugby.

In retrospect, London Welsh should never have pursued the Premiership dream without the backing, management or infrastructure to be sustainable.

Premiership clubs are able to rely heavily on central revenue, especially television, but this does not happen in the Championship and unless the clubs of the second