London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club, also known as London Irish Wild Geese, is an amateur
English rugby union club based in
Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, who play their rugby in
Regional 2 Thames
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
– a league at tier 6 of the
English rugby union system – following their relegation from
London & South East Premier at the end of the 2019–20 season. They are the amateur team of
London Irish and play at
Hazelwood.
History
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. The club was founded in September 1999 after London Irish left
The Avenue to play at the
Twickenham Stoop before moving to
Madejski Stadium in
Reading the following year.
It was formed to be the
feeder club for senior and junior amateur players to then go on to play for
London Irish, who until the end of the 2015–16 season played in the
English Premiership. A few players such as
Justin Bishop and
Kieran Campbell
Kieran Campbell (born 6 July 1979) is a former Irish rugby union scrumhalf, former manager of Ulster Rugby's academy, and former head coach of the Ireland under-20 team.
Born in Hillingdon to an Irish father and Sri Lankan mother, Campbell wa ...
went on to play international rugby.
London Irish and London Irish Amateur jointly share the new Hazelwood rugby complex. Since 2012, links between London Irish and London Irish Amateur have been upgraded with the two becoming part of a joint venture in which London Irish Amateur players play for London Irish in the A League. In return, members of London Irish's Academy are entitled to play for London Irish Amateur.
The first team's official name was changed to London Irish Wild Geese after the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
's governance committee gave consent for the change of name. In 2011, they were promoted from
London 1 into
National League 3 London & SE. In 2012, they were moved into
National League 3 South West,. In 2013, they were promoted into National League 2 South.
London Irish Amateur receives a grant from the
Irish Government's Emigrant Support Programme to support Mini Rugby.
Honours
*
Surrey 1 champions: 2001–02
*
London 2 (south-east v south-west) promotion play-off winner: 2005–06
*
London Division 2 South West champions: 2009–10
*
Surrey Trophy winners (2): 2010, 2011
*
London 1 (north v south) promotion play-off winner: 2010–11
*
National League 3 South-West champions: 2012–13
*
Surrey Cup winners: 2013
*
National League 3 London & SE champions: 2015–16
Coaching staff
* Chair of Men's Rugby: Joe Byrne
* Manager: Trevor Johnson
* Head Coach: Ryan Gregory
* Forwards Coach: Matt Cornish
* Defence Coach: Hugh O'Sullivan
* Strength and Conditioning: Willie Lafolafo
See also
*
London Irish
References
External links
Official Site
{{Rugby union in England
English rugby union teams
London Irish
Rugby union clubs in Surrey
Rugby clubs established in 1999
Irish diaspora sports clubs in the United Kingdom
1999 establishments in England
Rugby union clubs in London