Today is the day no one who cares for English rugby, and specifically London Irish, wanted to see. The news that the Premiership club has gone into administration has rightly sent shockwaves through English rugby, Exiles supporters, and the wider Irish community in London and the UK. I understand and feel this pain deeply.
To those unfamiliar with my personal history with London Irish, this began when I moved to London in 1995. I was at Irish for the next ten years, as player, captain, then director of rugby – a role in which I led the club to its first and only senior trophy win in the 2002 Powergen Cup final versus Northampton Saints.
This – along with meeting my future wife at the club – ranks as my proudest achievement.
Later I served as managing director of London Irish. It’s fair to say I’ve done most jobs at Irish except for groundsman and kitman.
Sunbury-on-Thames, where London Irish had its clubhouse before its move down the road to Hazelwood, became a home from home for me, like many other members of London’s Irish community and diaspora.
While it cannot and should not be the role of the RFU to prop up failing businesses, however painful that may be for me personally, we have been able to work with Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association, the players’ union, to establish a hardship fund to support those players and staff most affected who have not yet been able to find alternative employment.
Look beyond the Premiership, and there is a glimmer of hope. London Irish Amateur Rugby still runs one of the biggest and best-supported mini and junior rugby set-ups in England, along with thriving women’s and girls’ teams.
A phoenix community club can yet walk from the flames and ashes of the professional club
There is a strong pipeline of young players emerging through the talent pathways and, it has been our priority at the RFU to ensure that the pathway for these young players is maintained so the RFU will underpin the academy teams and step in to support the development of all players under 18.
A phoenix community club can yet walk from the flames and ashes of the professional club, so that we have a community hub for the Irish exiles in London for generations to come.
I am hopeful from my own conversations with prominent London Irish alumni and members of the Irish business community in London and beyond that saving Hazelwood will be possible.
Furthermore, the experience of near neighbours London Welsh – whose professional team went into administration in 2017, with their amateur team starting in tier nine the following season, followed by four straight promotions – offers a beacon of hope for the future.
While today it is hard to look beyond London Irish, I am confident the new Professional Game Agreement, which will come into force next year will put the top two divisions of the professional game in England on a firmer and more sustainable financial footing.
Today is a dark day for all the Exiles family. Following months of uncertainty, let’s hope tomorrow there is a silver lining.
