To be able to deliver strong and positive results over a sustained period of time is the objective of all of our Aviva Premiership Clubs however every single one will tell you that it is a considerable, and at times, a daunting challenge. The ability to do so rides on the delicate balance of winning in the now and succession planning for the future. This balance can be disrupted by a number of factors and once you are knocked off course it can take longer than you'd desire to work your way back to success as London Irish have found out.
In May 2009 Bob Casey lead the Exiles out at Twickenham Stadium for the Guinness Premiership Final, the Saturday before they had brushed aside Harlequins at The Stoop by seventeen points to nil, and even neutrals believed that had a genuine case for the title. A single point separated the two sides at the final whistle and Irish hearts broke as Leicester lifted their eighth title.
In the years since the Leicester Tigers have continued to enjoy the upper echelons of the Aviva Premiership however for London Irish sustained success hasn’t materialised, instead they lost their experienced individuals to retirement and many of the men that were earmarked to fill those jerseys to other clubs. I'm sure that if I asked any Exiles fan they would say to me that it has been a little difficult to watch however with new owners, new facilities and the individuals being put in place at the top there are positive signs for the future.
Nick Kennedy has stepped into the role of Academy Director and with his team of Declan Danaher and Paul Hodgson their focus is to develop a pipeline akin to the one, that at one time, contained Alex Corbisiero, the Armitage brothers, Anthony Watson, Max Lahiff, Marland Yarde and Jonathan Joseph. Their focus is to recruit the talent and ensure that individuals that they invest so much time in remain at London Irish for the long haul. Their credentials to develop Irish's youth are first class and their work rates are second to none and I expect them to be successful with this task.
In May 2009 Bob Casey lead the Exiles out at Twickenham Stadium for the Guinness Premiership Final, the Saturday before they had brushed aside Harlequins at The Stoop by seventeen points to nil, and even neutrals believed that had a genuine case for the title. A single point separated the two sides at the final whistle and Irish hearts broke as Leicester lifted their eighth title. In the years since the Leicester Tigers have continued to enjoy the upper echelons of the Aviva Premiership however for London Irish sustained success hasn’t materialised, instead they lost their experienced individuals to retirement and many of the men that were earmarked to fill those jerseys to other clubs. I'm sure that if I asked any Exiles fan they would say to me that it has been a little difficult to watch however with new owners, new facilities and the individuals being put in place at the top there are positive signs for the future.
Nick Kennedy has stepped into the role of Academy Director and with his team of Declan Danaher and Paul Hodgson their focus is to develop a pipeline akin to the one, that at one time, contained Alex Corbisiero, the Armitage brothers, Anthony Watson, Max Lahiff, Marland Yarde and Jonathan Joseph. Their focus is to recruit the talent and ensure that individuals that they invest so much time in remain at London Irish for the long haul. Their credentials to develop Irish's youth are first class and their work rates are second to none and I expect them to be successful with this task.
Earlier this year the promotion of Bob Casey from Operations Director to the club's new Chief Executive was made public and since a whole new management structure has been put in place. At the recent Aviva Premiership Fixtures Launch Bob shared with me the details about the process of reaching this structure and his perspective on the redevelopment task at hand;
“What we did was that we got a team of four people on the rugby side and four people on the commercial side to do a full review of the whole club. I was in each team and then we did a benchmark study of the Top 6 sides in Pro12, Premiership, Super 15 and we also looked at other sports like the NFL and Soccer and we put down what we believed to be the best structure to make London Irish successful. We started that process over a year and half ago, so it has been a long process, a lot of thought has gone into it."
The 2014/15 season was year one of the redevelopment plan and interestingly Bob highlighted that a focus of last season was 'realigning the culture’ which he felt had moved away from where it needed to be;
“I think that we got away from what London Irish was as a club in the last few years. London Irish, as you know, it is a family club, we work very hard for each other and we are striving for excellence, a real home away from home for people and maybe we got away from that. So when we recruited for our Head Coach he had to fit that philosophy and Tom is very much like that. He is a great man first and foremost and he believes in what we are trying to do in terms of ‘no-one is bigger than that team'.
The players that are coming in have been carefully selected, Bob has approached recruitment with a clear vision in mind and a focus on developing what he calls 'a strong spine'. In the London Irish sides that he captained during his decade as a player their backbones were indelible and the challenge to create that once again. This does not come overnight and indeed instant table topping success in the 2015/16 season isn’t the aim, instead London Irish's goals are focused on embedding their new personnel, continuing to enhance and develop their academy and pushing themselves positively up the Aviva Premiership table.
