| Full name | London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club |
|---|---|
| Union | RFU |
| Nickname(s) | The Exiles, Irish, The Wild Geese[1] |
| Founded | September 1999[2] |
| Location | Sunbury-on-Thames, England |
| Ground(s) | The Avenue |
| President | David FitzGerald |
| Coach(es) |  Jamie Balls MBE |
| Captain(s) | Richard Braithwaite |
| League(s) | London 2 South West |
| Official website | |
| www | |
London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club, or London Irish Wild Geese, are an amateur English rugby union team based in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey who currently play their rugby in National League 2 South. They are the amateur team of London Irish and play at The Avenue.[3]
History edit
The creation of London Irish Amateur was first discussed in 1995 when rugby union became professional and London Irish set aside resources for the creation of an amateur team.[4] The club was founded in September of 1999 after London Irish left The Avenue to play at the Madjeski Stadium in Reading.[5] It was formed to be feeder club for senior and junior amateur players to then go on to play for London Irish, which play in the English Premiership.[6] A few players such as Justin Bishop and Kieran Campbell went on to play international rugby.[7]
London Irish often provide London Irish Amateur with assistance and funding[8] and still use The Avenue as a training venue.[9] Members of London Irish's academy occasionally play for London Irish Amateur.[10]
In 2011, they were promoted from London 1 into National League 3 London & SE.[11] In 2012, they were moved into National League 3 South West,[12] where the first team's official name was changed to London Irish Wild Geese after the Rugby Football Union's governance committee gave consent for the change of name.[13] In 2013, they were promoted into National League 2 South.[14]
London Irish Amateur is registered as a charity and in 2013, it received a grant from the Irish Government's Emigrant Support Programme.[15]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Wild Geese on brink of the title". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^ "About Us". London-Irish-Amateur.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- ^ "London Irish Amateurs Information". London-Irish.com. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- ^ http://www.intouchrugby.com/magazine/london-irish-amateur-rfc-wild-geese-flying-the-flag-for-amateur-status/
- ^ http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/london-irish-rugby-team
- ^ http://www.intouchrugby.com/magazine/london-irish-amateur-rfc-flourishing-thanks-to-a-former-nifc-scrum-half-from-armagh/
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20100408024824/http://www.london-irish-amateur.co.uk/about_us.html
- ^ "London Irish to Take Full Squad on Ireland Tour". Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/london_irish/8792532.stm
- ^ http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/rugby-news/billy-clark-excited-london-irish-4873659
- ^ http://www.intouchrugby.com/magazine/london-irish-wild-geese-rugby-i-xv-21-%E2%80%93-14-sidcup-rugby-i-xv-london-division-1-promotion-play-off-%E2%80%93-23rd-april-2011/
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/18048472
- ^ http://www.london-irish-amateur.co.uk/club-house/389
- ^ http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/just-couldn-t-game-firing-admits-Dings-coach-Alex/story-19929467-detail/story.html
- ^ http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/british-based-charities-given-5-4m-by-irish-government-emigrant-support-programme
External links edit
Category:English rugby union teams
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