Powerday - Official London Irish Sponsor
Why We Need Your Support
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Why We Need Your Support

Our Club as it is today

London Irish is going from strength to strength and is now one of the top four teams in the UK and was a finalist in the 2008/2009 Guinness Premiership. We are very proud of our achievements, our history and future at the Club’s spiritual home in Sunbury. Here are a few key facts:

  • The club is an important and long established part of the Sunbury and Spelthorne community and we have a proud reputation for providing rugby to members of the community of all ages.
  • The London Irish England Rugby Academy and the Amateur Club have between them 850 members, many of whom live locally in Sunbury.
  • London Irish is one of the few clubs which has retained the link between professional and amateur rugby. The relocation to Hazelwood will ensure this link remains.
  • The club is a significant local employer with over 80 people working from its administrative and training headquarters in Sunbury.
  • London Irish has a very active junior programme with 300 mini-rugby players (girls and boys) playing each Sunday morning.
  • The club has very strong relationships with local schools who benefit from our dedicated community outreach programme and regularly undertakes coaching sessions and masterclasses.
Current pitches and grandstand

Current pitches and grandstand

However, our current site at The Avenue is very limited;

  • There are insufficient pitches to serve both the club and community activities, with a number of coaching activities (particularly involving junior members) having to take place off-site due to lack of space, thus creating major administration and child protection/safety issues.
  • The intensive use of the existing pitches is causing major difficulties in the provision of high quality and safe playing surfaces.
  • The poor existing changing accommodation means it is not possible to establish a ladies adult team which can play matches at the same time as the men. Members of the junior girl’s squad have to change off-site at a nearby school.
  • There are antiquated and cramped changing, medical, social and business facilities.
  • There is limited parking for 130 cars (with 89 London Irish staff based at the site) leading to ad hoc parking on adjoining roads and grass verges.