Union RFU Chairman David Fitzgerald Ground Hazelwood Founded September 1999 | Nickname(s) The Wild Geese President Alan McCartney League National League 2 South | |
 | ||
Full name London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club Location Sunbury-on-Thames, England Headquarters Sunbury-on-Thames, United Kingdom | ||
Irish exiles u17 final north v south east london irish amateurs march 2013
London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club, also London Irish Wild Geese, are an amateur English rugby union club based in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, who as of 2016-17 will play their rugby in National League 2 South. They are the amateur team of London Irish and play at Hazelwood.
Contents
First xv v london irish amateur rfc on 23 10 2010 1
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 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 were upgraded with the two becoming part of a joint venture where 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'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.