After an agonising wait, London Welsh finally know their fate. The news was broken on Twitter with some confusion as to whether reports were true because neither the RFU or the clubs involved had been informed of the official result.

The decision means that London Welsh will play top flight rugby next season with Dean Richards' Newcastle Falcons being relegated having finished bottom of the Aviva Premiership.

London Welsh have won appeal
— Gavin Mairs (@GavinMairs) June 29, 2012

The Tweet above was posted by Telegraph journalist Gavin Mairs who appeared to be the first person to break the news. Following this, Twitter erupted with messages and updates - even Sky, ESPN and the BBC reported the news.

However, some confusion then came about as to whether the reports were true. The RFU had received no verdict and nor had London Welsh or Newcastle.

But the rumours were confirmed when London Welsh released a statement in which they said:

"London Welsh RFC welcomes the decision reached today by the Appeal Panel regarding its case against the RFU, and with Newcastle Falcons as an interested party.

The club has always believed in the strength of its case for admittance into the Aviva Premiership, as winners of the RFU Championship, and today’s outcome confirms that we were right to appeal against the decision that London Welsh should not be promoted.

The fundamental strength of our case was based not only on overwhelming legal merits, including in particular anti-competition grounds, but also, equally importantly, on the fairness and justice of rewarding through promotion the team winning on the pitch."