OAKDALE RFC have bowed to the pressures of their troubled campaign and dropped out of the Welsh National League.

But the club, who are bottom of Division Two having lost a enormous amount of players when they decided to reduce their salary bill, have vowed to be back in Division Seven East next term.

The heartbreaking decision by them has come after a campaign in which they suffered heavy defeat after heavy defeat, with a couple of matches having to be cancelled.

However, secretary Dave Higgins stressed that, contrary to suggestions around the Gwent valley, Oakdale are NOT closing as a club and continue to have a flourishing Under-16 and youth set-up which train every Tuesday and Thursday.

But they are the first Gwent club to call it a day because of a lack of players and also people, as enthusiastic as they could be, not really up to the competitive standard of rugby in the higher divisions of the league.

Oakdale's senior team will continue to play friendlies in future months but not league games.

Higgins said: "I've got a meeting with the WRU regulatory committee next Thursday to sort things about about the future of the club and we are looking to start again in Division Seven next season."

But he added: "There are rumours that the club was shutting which cannot be further from the truth. The club is doing really well and we still run the Under-16 and youth teams.

"It's been really hard work for the coaches Keith James and Christian Morgan but they have just not had the players in training to work with.

"We lost all our players from last year through retirement and transfers and we were left with second team players who were playing this season.

"And over the last three weeks, the majority of players we have had on the books have transferred down the divisions to play at a level where they can compete. You can understand their point of view."

Higgins and others have worked tirelessly to stay in the second division going this season. He said: "We said were not going to throw the towel in and we would carry on as long as we could and until we could go no further - and that's where we are now.

"Other sides have helped us out with players but we couldn't rely on that for the rest of the season. It was demoralising for the players who were playing in these games to have such heavy scores put against them."

Higgins added: "I would like to thank the coaching staff here, team manager Mark Williams and the committee who have helped out trying to keep things together."

And he particularly added: "I would really like to thank the players who turned out for Oakdale this year and have put in sterling service in difficult circumstances. Also the support from within the club who have helped us and travelled with the team as well." Oakdale lost all six of the Division Two games they played this season, scoring just two tries and 26 points while conceding 539 and were, inevitably, rock bottom of the table and six points adrift of the team above them, Abercynon.

They become the second side in two campaigns to drop out of the league following a similar choice by South Wales Police last year.

PICTURE: Oakdale chairman Richard Perrot has been forced to pull the club out of the Welsh League Division Two