London Irish's Best Moments - The History of the Exiles

A truly sad day for English rugby, as this historic club will be ousted from the top flight with a future of uncertainty on the horizon. Irish follow the likes of Worcester Warriors and Wasps, in becoming the third Premiership Rugby club to collapse, in what has been an unforgettable and unimaginable 2022/23 season. Part of a combined

statement from the RFU and Premiership Rugby and the RPA read;

"As a result of London Irish and its potential buyers being unable to provide reassurances over the club’s financial ability to operate in the Premiership in the 2023/24 season, the RFU has confirmed the club is not able to participate in any league next season."

Irish's final match for now saw them record a 17-14 victory over Exeter Chiefs, with flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez holding the accolade of being the Exile's final points scorer in the Premiership.

So after this tragic news for London Irish and their proud 'Exile Nation' of supporters, lets take a look back on the club's high points. Irish have an incredible 125 year history, so lets remember the memorable moments, which came along the way.

London Irish Rugby Football Club was officially founded in 1898, when a group of Irishmen in the British capital joined together to form the team. These 'Founding Fathers' were lawyers, politicians, businessmen and students, who believed that an Irish sporting club in England was needed for those living away from their homeland.

London Irish followed the trend of 'Exile' sides within the English club game, after London Scottish's establishment in 1878 and London Welsh in 1885. The idea behind founding the rugby club is summarised beautifully by the official London Irish website; "The intention was to provide a home from home for wandering Irish men and women regardless of creed or politics and a welcoming and hospitable venue to entertain rugby players and supporters from all over the world."

An important arrival during the Exiles' inception, was leading Ireland international Louis Magee. London Irish's first international player, Magee played 27 times for his country and had a vital role in recruiting more Irishmen to the new club; an undeniable icon of the Exiles' early years.

London Irish's first ever match was a low-scoring 8-3 victory, as they took on Hammersmith. The West London club welcomed the Exiles to the Herne Hill Athletic Ground, and marked the start of Irish's on-field story on October 1st 1898. London Irish thrived in the early years of the new century, and established themselves within the local London club leagues before the outbreak of World War One.

Depending on what era a London Irish fan grew up supporting the club, they will have a soft spot for one of the Exiles many former homes. Irish's spiritual home will forever be The Avenue, with the club tracing their roots to Sunbury-upon-Thames since 1931. Aside from a 19-year-gap from 1940-1959, which saw the land used for war-time and post-war agriculture, Irish played their home matches at the fabled ground in Surrey.

The Avenue was home until the turn of the new Millennium, with the year 2000 marking the dawning of a new era for London Irish. The older generation of Irish fans would likely remember when the Exiles found a new home in the Madejski Stadium, and shared the ground with Reading Football Club.

Five years after the start of the 'professional era', Irish made their way over to their new Home County, and the early years in Berkshire brought renowned silverware successes (more on that shortly). These days sharing the ground with the 'Royals' are heralded as a high point in the professional progression of the Exiles.

Irish moved to Brentford in 2020, and found their most recent home at the G-tech Community Stadium. Once again sharing their home with a Premier League football club in Brentford FC, the G-tech brought many fond memories for Exiles fans. A matchday was never complete without a trip to the Dug-Out, with the live Irish music and party atmosphere a guarantee, regardless of the on-field result.

Shortly after settling into their new Reading home, the Madejski Stadium saw a new trophy added to the cabinet. London Irish fans consider the 20th of April 2002 to be one of the most successful days in the club's history, as the Exiles lifted the 2001/02 Powergen Cup.

Historically known as the RFU Knock-Out Cup, or better known by today's branding as the Premiership Rugby Cup, London Irish secured their triumphant victory in front of 75,000 fans at Twickenham Stadium. This victory came in the form of a 38-7 landslide, as Irish hit top gear against Northampton Saints.

Two tries each from centre Geoff Appleford and Irish winger Justin Bishop, along with an additional score from fullback Michael Horak, built unsurmountable daylight between the Exiles and the Saints. Northampton's sole response was Ben Cohen's try and Paul Grayson's conversion. Irish's fly half Barry Everitt added a further 13 points from the tee, as his side were resounding winners at 'HQ'.

This trophy remains to be Irish's one and only major piece of top-flight silverware, making this day even more poignant for the Exile Nation. Further trophies would come, as Irish yo-yoed between the Premiership and Championship, yet this day marks the sole time the Exiles held a major cup aloft at the pinnacle stage of English rugby.

The story of London Irish's 32-27 win over Harlequins in the 2001/02 season is the stuff of Exiles folklore. This triumph over the West London rivals is so celebrated, that the Irish fans even have a song to remember the joyous occasion.

The match took place in the semi-final of the aforementioned Powergen Cup, which London Irish went on to lift that season. Twickenham Stoop was the venue, and as the story goes, the famous quarter colours of Harlequins was drowned out by a sea of Irish green, when the local rivals came to town.

Musician and Irish fan Ronan MacManus frequently performed this anthem in Irish's post-match celebrations, when Guinness flowed and spirits were high for the London Irishmen;

There once was a man, a big Quins fan, he was a miserable sod
He went to the S-T-O-O-P, he thought Will Carlin was god
Then the I-R-I-S-H Irish, we covered the stoop in green
and we sang you can stick your chariots up your a***

Now Conor O’Shea had a feeling that day that this was going to be our year
If he could keep them on their G-A-M-E game and off the B-E-E-R beer
Then B-A-R-R-Y Everitt converted all the T-R-Ys
and we sang the F-I-E-L-D-S of Athenry

The G-U-I-N-N-E-S-S has been drunk today
We’ll always sing about the C-U-P and that semi-final day
We’ll have a C-R-A-I-C craic whether we lose or win
and that’s why we’ll always be a better club than the Q-U-I-N quins

London Irish had their best European venture to date during the 2005/06 season, as they reached the final of the European Challenge Cup. After finishing 10th in the 2004/05 Zurich Premiership season the Exiles were seeded into Pool B for the following year's Challenge Cup. Irish faced tough opposition, as they drew the French duo of Agen and Pau, and Italian club Overmach Parma.

However, the Exiles rose to the occasion and won all three of their Pool stage matches to finish top of the group. Irish recorded a 32-24 win over Agen, a 20-13 victory over Pau and scored 10 tries in the 64-0 decimation of Parma. They took this flying form into the competition's knock-out stages, with a staggering 48-5 triumph over Bayonne.

During an era of Premiership dominance of Europe, the final four teams of the Challenge Cup all came from the English top flight. Irish battled against Newcastle Falcons in the semi-final, and despite the best efforts of their talisman Jonny Wilkinson, the Falcons' wings were clipped after a 27-22 Irish victory.

The final saw Irish take on Gloucester, with a healthy crowd of over 12,000 fans packing themselves into Harlequins' Twickenham Stoop. The teams were locked at 31-31 at the end of 80 minutes, thanks to two late pushover tries from the never-say-die London Irish, as flanker Olivier Magne and hooker Robbie Russell briefly rescued Irish hopes.

Gloucester's number eight James Forrester scored a stunning solo try in the second half of extra time, and the Exiles were unable to close the gap so late on in the game. Barry Everitt slotted a penalty, yet missed two crucial efforts at the posts, with the trophy handed to the Cherry and Whites. Not the ending that Irish fans dreamt of, but the awe-inspiring run in Europe will go down as Irish's best season on the continent.

The 2008/09 Premiership Rugby season is London Irish's best performance in the English top division. After a memorable season, Irish finished third as they racked up an impressive 12 wins in 22 matches. The Avenue faithful watched on with baited breath, as the Exiles pressed on to the play-offs, with ambitions of bringing the Premiership title home to Sunbury.

Once again, a memorable semi-final victory was recorded against the Harlequins, which gave an added bounce into the final verse of MacManus' anti-Quin song. Irish flooded the Twickenham Stoop, and shut out their rivals with a 17-0 victory. James Hudson and Mike Catt contributed tries for the Exiles, with former England international Delon Armitage adding the two conversions and an additional penalty.

A resolved Irish defence put the sword to Quins, as Head Coach Toby Booth had ingrained a ruthless mentality into his band of Exiles. Harlequins were unable to break through the defence, with Irish returning to Twickenham the following week, yet this time they went to the 82,000 capacity stadium which lay across the road from the Stoop.

London Irish met Leicester Tigers in the final of the 2008/09 Premiership season, in what was a match for the purists. A 10-9 battle of attrition saw two teams of unbreakable mindsets trade blows for an exhausting 80 minutes. In the end, it was Richard Cockerill's Tigers who prevailed, with back-rower Jordan Crane providing the only try of a kick-heavy contest.

London Irish would not reach the Premiership Final again, in their remaining years in the top flight. Despite only coming away with silver medals, the Exiles were proud of their efforts, which were made even sweeter for the semi-final success over Harlequins.

London Irish entered a yo-yo stage from 2016 to 2019, as they bounced up and down between the Premiership and the RFU Championship. Initially relegated after a sorry performance in the 2015/16 Premiership season, London Irish dominated the competition in the English second division, finishing top of the tree with 19 wins in 20 matches.

Irish then dispatched Doncaster Knights in the two-legged semi-final 74-25 on aggregate, before securing their place back in the top flight. Irish claimed the 2016/17 RFU Championship title with an 84-66 aggregate win over Yorkshire Carnegie, and added to their trophy cabinet for the first time since 2002.

However, Irish's return to the Premiership lasted just one season, as they found themselves relegated back into the second division at the end of the 2017/18 campaign. The Exiles bounced back once again, not letting the relegation way heavy on their minds. Irish recorded 20 victories that season, and ensured promotion with a round of action left to play.

There were no play-offs for the 2018/19 RFU Championship season, and Irish were rightfully crowned champions of the second division. Another glistening trophy was added to the collection, in what was the last addition despite back-to-back appearances in the Premiership Rugby Cup Final.

London Irish admirably maintained their status within the Premiership until their bitter end, with hopes of a phoenix team revival to one day see them return to their rightful home in the English top flight.