| London Irish | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | London Irish Rugby Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Exiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1898 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Reading, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground(s) | Madejski Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 24,250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Guinness Premiership | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | 7th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Official website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| www.london-irish.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
London Irish (also known as The Exiles) is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey where the senior squad train, and the youth teams and senior academy play home games. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Madejski Stadium is a football Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. Brian Smith born 9 September, 1966 in St George New South Wales, Australia is the former Director of Rugby at London Irish in the The English Premiership (known as the Guinness Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Guinness) is a professional league competition for Rugby The 2007-08 Guinness Premiership started in September 2007 and finished with the final in May 2008 The London Irish Rifles (LIR is now known more formally known as "D (London Irish Rifles Company London Regiment " and is a volunteer Rifle Regiment with a distinguished England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short Places called Sunbury include;Australia Sunbury Victoria Sunbury Downs College Sunbury Pop Festival (1972-1975 Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The professional club shares the Sunbury facilities with London Irish Amateur RFC and competes in the top division of English rugby union, the Guinness Premiership. The English Premiership (known as the Guinness Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Guinness) is a professional league competition for Rugby The club also competes in the Anglo-Welsh EDF Energy Cup as well as the European Rugby Cups; the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. The EDF Energy Cup (also known as the Anglo-Welsh Cup) is an English and Welsh Rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the The European Rugby Cup (known as the Heineken Cup because of the tournament's sponsorship by Heineken) is an annual Rugby union competition involving leading The European Challenge Cup in Rugby union, known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005 is the junior competition to The club will play at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, some 40 miles west of central London, until 2026. The Madejski Stadium is a football Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South
London Irish was founded in 1898 for the young Irish people of the city, following the formation of similar clubs in London, including the London Welsh and London Scottish. London Welsh Rugby Football Club is a Rugby union club based in London that currently plays in National Division One, the second level of the English London Scottish Football Club is a Rugby union team in England The team plays in green and white colours, with a reversed away strip. The club's mascot is an Irish Wolfhound called Digger. The term mascot – defined as a term for any person animal or object thought to bring Luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common Digger is an Irish wolfhound and official Mascot of London Irish rugby union club London Irish won its first major trophy in 2002, claiming the Powergen Cup (now EDF Energy Cup) and in the 2007/2008 a resurgent team came close to a place in the Heineken Cup Final losing out to Toulouse in a tight encounter at Twickenham stadium.
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Also known as The Exiles, London Irish RFC was formed in 1898 for the young Irishmen of London; it was modelled on the already established London Welsh and London Scottish teams. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. London Welsh Rugby Football Club is a Rugby union club based in London that currently plays in National Division One, the second level of the English London Irish suffered during World War I and the Irish War of Independence. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Irish War of Independence (or Tan War, or Anglo-Irish War, Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse) from January 1919 to July 1921 was a guerrilla It was not until 1923 when the Irish Free State was established and peace returned that the club was able to welcome players from across the Irish Sea on a regular basis. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann (1922&ndash1937 was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by The Irish Sea ( Irish: Muir Éireann or Muir Meann; Scottish Gaelic: Muir Eireann Welsh: Môr Iwerddon,
By the late 1920s the club boasted its first "home grown" Ireland international in S J 'Cags' Cagney who won 13 caps between 1925 and 1929. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada The Ireland rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in Rugby union, which is a popular sport throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The club developed a home of its own in 1931 at The Avenue in Sunbury, the first game was played on 5 December against London Welsh; the result was an honourable 8-8 draw. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sunbury-on-Thames (also known as Sunbury)is a London commuter belt town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne in England. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Although the club now play their games as tenants of Reading FC at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, the ground at Sunbury is still its spiritual home. The Madejski Stadium is a football Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England.
The 50s was a period of mixed fortunes for London Irish. In 1959-1960 season London Irish only lost 2 games all season, featuring Ireland International players such as Andy Mulligan & Sean McDermott, Mike (C. Andrew (Andy Armstrong Mulligan, was born on 4 February 1936 et Kasauli, a small Cantonment town in Solan district in the Indian M. H. ) Gibson (played 1 game in the late 60's), Tony O'Reilly (who played a handful of games in 1970) and Ollie Waldron (who played in the late 60's-early 70's), all graced the Sunbury pitch.
The improving quality of fixtures demanded a change in attitude to training and playing as the sixties became the seventies. Under the leadership of the great hooker Ken Kennedy, with the assistance of exceptional players like Mick Molloy and Barry Bresnihan, London Irish became a force to be reckoned with once more. In 1976-77 the Rugby Football Union introduced proper club merit tables and in that season London Irish finished first in the London Division with six wins out of seven. The Rugby Football Union (RFU is the Rugby union governing body in England The Irish made visits to France and famously to South Africa in 1977 where the club became the first touring side to play so many mixed race teams.
In playing terms the eighties were another period of inconsistency. The first team struggled to find reliable form as work pressures made more demands on players' time making them unavailable for regular training and matches. Happily, at the lower levels and socially London Irish continued to thrive. In 1990-91 London Irish was promoted to the first division with a side containing four new Ireland internationals: Simon Geoghegan, Jim Staples, David Curtis and Rob Saunders, the youngest ever captain of his country at 22 years of age.
The harsh financial realities of playing at the top end of the game in England gradually became clear to all the country's senior clubs including London Irish in the early years of the decade. Operating losses mounted and but for the generosity of key benefactors at the time, the club would have struggled to survive.
The financial struggles were reflected on the pitch where London Irish failed to make any impact in the leagues despite employing the services of a number of high profile coaches. In 1999 London Irish merged with London Scottish and Richmond to form a new umbrella company to support the professional team which competes in the Guinness Premiership in England. London Scottish Football Club is a Rugby union team in England Richmond Football Club is a Rugby union club from Richmond, London. The English Premiership (known as the Guinness Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Guinness) is a professional league competition for Rugby An amateur club was also formed at this time, London Irish Amateur RFC, which remains in Sunbury. The club won its first piece of silverware in 2002 by beating Northampton Saints in the Powergen Cup final at Twickenham. Northampton Saints are a professional English Rugby union club from Northampton, England. The EDF Energy Cup (also known as the Anglo-Welsh Cup) is an English and Welsh Rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the Twickenham Stadium (usually known as just Twickenham or Twickers) is a Stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond
London Irish play at the Madejski Stadium, in Reading. The Madejski Stadium is a football Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Madejski is the home of Reading F.C. and was opened in August of 1998. Reading Football Club are an Association football club based in the English town of Reading, in Berkshire. The ground is a 24,161 all-seater capacity.
While Reading F. C. had received local authority approval for a stadium expansion, it now seems unlikely to go ahead following the club's relegation from football's Premier League. All London Irish home matches are played at the Madejski. The largest crowd for a London Irish match was for a game against London Wasps on March 15, 2008 during the 2007-08 Guinness Premiership. London Wasps is an English professional Rugby union team The men's first team which forms London Wasps was derived from Wasps Football Club who The 2007-08 Guinness Premiership started in September 2007 and finished with the final in May 2008 The crowd of 23,790 was also the highest attendance for a regular season Guinness Premiership match. [1]
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| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloucester Rugby | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 551 | 377 | 174 | 7 | 7 | 74 | ||||
| London Wasps (C) | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 599 | 459 | 140 | 7 | 3 | 70 | ||||
| Bath Rugby | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 526 | 387 | 139 | 6 | 3 | 69 | ||||
| Leicester Tigers | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 539 | 428 | 111 | 6 | 6 | 64 | ||||
| Sale Sharks | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 481 | 374 | 107 | 4 | 3 | 63 | ||||
| Harlequins | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 480 | 440 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 63 | ||||
| London Irish | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 433 | 382 | 51 | 2 | 5 | 59 | ||||
| Saracens | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 533 | 525 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 52 | ||||
| Bristol Rugby | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 393 | 473 | -80 | 3 | 5 | 37* | ||||
| Worcester Warriors | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 387 | 472 | -85 | 1 | 7 | 36 | ||||
| Newcastle Falcons | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 333 | 542 | -209 | 1 | 5 | 34 | ||||
| Leeds Carnegie (R) | 22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 336 | 732 | -396 | 0 | 2 | 12 | ||||
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* Bristol Rugby deducted one point for fielding an ineligible player in the match against London Wasps on 22nd December 2007 |
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| Green background are play off places. The 2007-08 Guinness Premiership started in September 2007 and finished with the final in May 2008 Gloucester Rugby are a professional English Rugby union team situated in the West country city of Gloucester. London Wasps is an English professional Rugby union team The men's first team which forms London Wasps was derived from Wasps Football Club who Bath Rugby (also known as just Bath) is an English professional Rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. Leicester Football Club (nicknamed Leicester Tigers) is an English Rugby union club that plays in the Guinness Premiership. Sale Sharks are a professional Rugby union team who play in England in the Guinness Premiership. The Harlequin Football Club (The Harlequins or Quins for short is an English Rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby The Saracens Rugby Football Club, also known as Saracens FC or usually just Saracens, are a professional Rugby union team based in Watford, Bristol Rugby is a Guinness Premiership rugby club in Bristol, England. The Worcester Rugby Football Club are an English Rugby union club The Newcastle Falcons is a Rugby union team currently playing in the Guinness Premiership. Leeds Carnegie is an English Rugby union club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire that currently plays in the National Division One after being relegated Pink background is the relegation place Reference www.guinnesspremiership.com: Updated 2008-05-04 --- Current English Leagues |
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Signings for 2008-2009 season: