London Irish Takeover

[Optimist]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/25333763

Looks as if London Irish's new owners could potentially decide to leave the Mad Stad, and I feel this could divide opinions among Reading fans. Personally I think it would be sad to see them go, they did have a contract til 2026 but I think that got extended iirc, so we'd been losing out on a solid, long-term contract, plus what they bring in on match days. Also it would be bad for the town, which has lost speedway and greyhounds already, if we lose pro Rugby too we'd have little else left!

[SPARTA]

It's only worth peanuts to us per season - not even half the cost of a new pitch! They're contracted until 2026. Possible(?) compensation due if they break the contact.

[bobby1413]

I don't understand any fan or local person not liking London Irish being based here. Equally, why anyone would be happy to see them leave.

People used to say the pitch would suffer - which is frankly rubbish. If it does suffer (which I don't think it does), it's in now way impactive on RFC's performance who have more to worry about then the grass being crumpled.

The increase in people visiting the ground, the town is good. It benefits Reading Town as it has more things that help put it on the map which it does need!

I've never been to a match, but I do like that we share the ground with them and think the agreement works well.

[Cureton's Volley]

Maybe if they cut the prices from a ridiculous £28 for a Standard Ticket (£32 on Matchday) they would get more takers

[Will95]

Can't wait, I hate the fact Irish don't come from around here (different county never mind town!) and have prevented the growth of an actual Reading rugby team.

[bobby1413]

Maybe if they cut the prices from a ridiculous £28 for a Standard Ticket (£32 on Matchday) they would get more takers

Bloody hell - £28?!!!

When I've briefly considered going I always thought it would be a good idea as it would be about £10 a ticket or something. That's a lot more than I thought.

[peterroyal76]

I couldn't care less if they leave or not. The pitch isn't affected now, but it used to be.
They should be a little worried about their lack of identity though.

[72 bus]

Lets hope they go soon, Would be great to have all our U21 games at the Madstad

[AthleticoSpizz]

Can't wait, I hate the fact Irish don't come from around here (different county never mind town!) and have prevented the growth of an actual Reading rugby team.

They do however, due to their obligations, contribute a lot to our local teams youth development by means of providing coaching, tournaments etc.

It was once rumoured, (dont know if it is still true), that they have to contribute financially to them too (due to lost local first-team gate revenues etc0.

[Will95]

Can't wait, I hate the fact Irish don't come from around here (different county never mind town!) and have prevented the growth of an actual Reading rugby team.

They do however, due to their obligations, contribute a lot to our local teams youth development by means of providing coaching, tournaments etc.

It was once rumoured, (dont know if it is still true), that they have to contribute financially to them too (due to lost local first-team gate revenues etc0.

I didn't know that so fair play to them, but still!

[Stuka]

Time to create Reading English Rugby Club

[Mr Angry]

Staying - for now......

"Interim executive chairman David Fitzgerald, a former Exiles captain, said the club would continue to play at Reading FC's Madejski Stadium, where they have a contract to ground-share until 2025-26, for "the foreseeable future", but added that the consortium would review that position."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/25333763

[Barry the bird boggler]

Wish they'd bog off back to London to be honest. Of course if they changed their name to Reading Irish then it might be different....

[Green]

Wish they'd bog off back to London to be honest. Of course if they changed their name to Reading Irish then it might be different....

Amazed how many people this seems to rattle, most of them I'd venture have no interest in rugby anyway.

[Optimist]

There was talk of them changing their name to Reading Irish at one point, but nothing was ever done about it.

Personally, I think they should take a leaf out of the Welsh & other London clubs' book and just be known by their nickname; Exiles RFC, which is even more appropriate these days as they have been exiled from London as well as Ireland.

[RoyalBlue]

Staying - for now......

"Interim executive chairman David Fitzgerald, a former Exiles captain, said the club would continue to play at Reading FC's Madejski Stadium, where they have a contract to ground-share until 2025-26, for "the foreseeable future", but added that the consortium would review that position."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/25333763

In the tv interview I saw, he categorically stated that they were committed to play at the Mad Stad until 2025-26 and therefore would be staying in Reading till then.

If that's the case, could the rugger buggers who sit in our seats please stop spilling their sticky drinks everywhere and sticking their chewing gum on the underside of our seats! Filthy pigs.

[Pandoras Box]

Amazed how many people this seems to rattle, most of them I'd venture have no interest in rugby anyway.

Not true. I like Rugby and would go often if it was Reading or Wasps etc - but I have no interest in supporting something affiliated to 'London' and certainly not to the 'Irish'. I have absolutely no connection with either.
The fact that this team plays in Reading, well so what. Should I go and support them if it was ''Liverpool Jamaican RFC' simply because they play at the Madstad?

[Nameless]

This is great news for Irish, who have done incredibly well to compete in the Premiership despite being by a long way one of the least well off clubs.

It's good news for Reading as it means we continue to have top level sport at the Madejski.

There's no way they will move out at this point as the contract is pretty rock solid although if they can I'm sure they will look at developing their own ground inthe future, it won't be top priority though.

I'm bemused at those who are so anti having them in Reading. They haven't stopped the local clubs progressing - there is no way Abbey, Reading or Redingensians would have got anywhere close to Irish's level and Irish have done lots to assist local clubs across a wide area. The name is a real red herring too, do North London fans refuse to support Arsenal because they used toi be called 'Woolwich' ? Are Wolves a fake club becasue they have a fixed home base and no longer 'Wander' and are Man Utd to be avoided because they do not , in fact, unite Manchester ? LI still have strong Irish roots and are based in London, the fact they play in Reading is something that was to a large extent forced on them and they have made huge efforts to become part of the local scene. The bizarre prejudices some people have are hard to fathom...

[LWJ]

Lets not forget the support Irish offer clubs outside of Reading... Newbury in particular has benefited from them and the county in general has a high standard of rugby at colt level.

[tmesis]

Can't wait, I hate the fact Irish don't come from around here (different county never mind town!) and have prevented the growth of an actual Reading rugby team.

I'm not sure they have. In fact they've probably encouraged far more people to get interested in rugby than before.

Unfortunately Reading rugby club are so far down the league system that few are going to be tempted to watch them without them rising far higher.