London Irish FC
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| Full name | London Irish Rugby Football Club |
|---|---|
| Union | RFU, Middlesex RFU, Surrey RFU, Irish RFU |
| Nickname(s) | The Exiles |
| Founded | 1898 |
| Location | Reading, Berkshire, England |
| Ground(s) | Madejski Stadium (Capacity: 24,161) |
| Chairman | Kieran McCarthy |
| CEO | Brian Facer |
| President | Michael Crossan |
| Director of Rugby | Declan Kidney (technical consultant) |
| Coach(es) | Les Kiss |
| Captain(s) | Franco van der Merwe |
| League(s) | English Premiership |
| 2016–17 | Championship, 1st (promoted) |
| Official website | |
| london-irish |
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London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club, with an Irish Identity. It was originally based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. It has competed in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union, every season since its inception in 1996-97, apart from the 2016-17 season, in which it won the Greene King IPA Championship. The club also competes in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and has participated in both the European Champions Cup or European Challenge Cup. In 2016 it played in the British and Irish Cup in addition to the Championship. The club will play its home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire until at least 2019.
London Irish won its first major trophy in 2002, claiming the Powergen Cup (the competition that later became the Anglo-Welsh Cup). Irish also reached the final of the 2009 English Premiership, narrowly losing 10–9 to Leicester Tigers at Twickenham Stadium. In the 2007–08 season the team came close to a place in the Heineken Cup Final losing out to Stade Toulousain 15–21 in a tense semi-final encounter at Twickenham Stadium. The club's mascot is an Irish Wolfhound called Digger.
London Irish was the last club to be formed in England by working and student exiles from the home countries, following London Scottish in 1878 and London Welsh in 1885. The first game took place on 1 October 1898 against the former Hammersmith club at Herne Hill Athletic Ground, London Irish winning by eight points to three. The team benefited from the early recruitment of vet and Irish international Louis Magee.
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