Welcome to the London Irish Senior Section

London Irish Amateur welcomes players of all levels, Chris Magowan, Director of Rugby explains.

”Here at London Irish ARFC we are very proud of all our players and teams from the mini’s all the way up to the senior level.
Each season we look to build on the successes of the previous and in the coming seasons our senior teams will face some of their sternest challenges to date.

Our first team, The Wild Geese, have been moving up the leagues over the last few years and are on ambitious program with the ultimate aim of remaining in the national leagues in the years to come.
In the 2010/2011 season The Geese not only retained the Surrey Cup, but moved into National Division 3.

The Geese are supported by players from three other London Irish ARFC teams.

The London Irish ARFC second team is called The Wanderers who feed players into The Geese. The Wanderers aim to create a competitive team that will keep Geese players challenging for places.
This season The Wanderers will play in the Rugby-Tech league, which is a new league for them.

The London Irish ARFC third team is called The Bohemians, The Boh’s can feed players into either The Geese or Wanderers as well as competing for themselves in the Jonap Surrey Premier League.

The London Irish ARFC academy team, The Wolfhounds are the best youth players at the club. Our academy is split into two sections, U19’s & U21’s, and players in both age groups play across our senior teams, with each player receving dedicated coaching and support.

Of course rugby is not only a young players game and the London Irish ARFC Vets, know as The B’s, have a full season of fixtures for players aged 35 and over.

The London Irish occasional team is called The Nomads and they play friendlys.
The Nomads are a combination of players from all London Irish senior teams who are coming back from injury, players who only want to play friendly’s and those who are new to high level rugby.

As well as a superb playing squad, we at London Irish ARFC are fortunate to have a great Backroom Team . Not only does each team have its own manager and coach, every player on every team has access to our fitness, nutrition and physio staff.

The club has a great connection with St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. From players to those studying sports related fields London Irish ARFC & St. Mary’s complement each other’s strengths.

So no matter what level of rugby you want to play here at London Irish ARFC you will find a team for you"

Club Captain, Matthew Bennett adds:

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
These words are from an individual who wrote a great deal about what it took to achieve success, and I think that they quite aptly describe London Irish Amateur and the Wild Geese. It is a great honour to be able to write these words on behalf of the Wild Geese of 2011/2012 as we have celebrated much success recently.

With the completion of the 'double double' of being promoted and winning the final of the Surrey Trophy two years in a row, some of the success of London Irish is immediately obvious. What is less obvious, but becomes more apparent the more time you spend with London Irish, is the sense of community and great club atmosphere that is so remarkable for a club with teams spanning so many divisions.
As an outsider coming to the club, this sense of community is something that struck me and has made my time with Irish all the more enjoyable. With such a welcoming and friendly club atmosphere it is easy for me to recommend getting down to Sunbury when London Irish are playing and enjoy a great afternoon of rugby atmosphere. Of course you can enjoy a pint or two and some serious rugby talk for good measure!
With the junior setup, both boys and girls, developing talent and seemingly manufacturing successes at will, the future of London Irish looks bright indeed.

Of course the success of the Wild Geese, and all other teams for that matter, has only been possible due to the countless hours put in by the many support staff. Thanks must go to the physios who put up with grown men making the proverbial mountains out of molehills with the smallest injury or ailment - a slightly more frequent occurrence in the cold winter months. The managers and coaches this past season were faced with some exceptionally difficult selection choices, thanks in large part to the dearth of talent available to them, should be remembered and duly appreciated for keeping the Wild Geese on track.
The Geese would have been a far less competitive side this past year were it not for the other teams of London Irish, and special thanks must go to the Wanderers, Wolfhounds and B's vets sides for providing competition and motivation to the players selected for the Wild Geese throughout the year, the 'double double' would not have been possible were it not for these players.

I would like to thank the sponsors, without whose support we could simply not operate. One last thank you must of course go to the supporters who have followed the rise of the Wild Geese and London Irish Amateur over the past two seasons. They have followed us hundreds of miles and I look forward to repaying their encouragement and support with some quality rugby in the coming seasons.