'Everything came to a head and we needed to survive - but now the future looks very rosy'

This is not the first time Michael Scudamore has gone to another country to take his career to the next level.

In his younger days he graduated from the rugby pitches of Cheltenham College to ply his trade in the professional ranks of Ebbw Vale, making such an impression as an all-action openside flanker that he made the Wales Under-19s squad. How, you might ask?

No avenue in Wales is left unexplored in the search for sporting talent – who can forget Vinnie Jones, after all – but the trainer actually possesses royal Welsh lineage. His ancestry can be traced back to Owen Glendower, the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales and whose daughter Alys secretly married Herefordshire landowner Sir John Scudamore.