Rugby Union clubs in England are dying. It turns out spending yourself into oblivion isn’t a smart way to ensure your survival. With English Rugby Union now openly talking about the need for major changes to the structure of their sport, the business model, and rationalisation of clubs, it begs the question, could the RFL…
The spotlight is on the Grima’s capital challenge. London Broncos and Tony Rea have parted company after 12 straight defeats in all competitions. Finding themselves without a home and having to contend with what amounted to a mass exodus of first team players at the end of last season, it appeared that Super League may…
The spotlight is on… the match review panel: Hull Kingston Rovers Chairman Neil Hudgell launch a scathing attack on the Rugby Football League match review panel after a series of inconsistent bans across the league. Mr Hudgell pointed to Justin Poore’s 3-game ban for an offence almost identical to that of Widnes’ Willie Isa, who…
The Spotlight is on… Bradford: this week the RFL hit Bradford Bulls with a 6-point deduction that leaves them 4 points adrift of London at the bottom of the Super League table. With the threat of relegation at the end of the season, this is absolutely disasterous for Francis Cummins and his squad. A dark…
As a Rugby League supporter, your support should not be unconditional. Your time and entertainment budget is very valuable. You should never, ever forget that. The London Broncos are a terrible joke at the moment. A franchise that is directionless, under funded, poorly managed and who does not belong anywhere near Super League. Let me…
In the long list of completely ridiculous situations that have emerged at the London Broncos in recent seasons, this is up there with one of the most embarrassing. The London Broncos announced on Friday that they had signed retired Australian forward Ben Ross for the 2014 Super League season. That Ross would need to come…
They have few players, hardly any staff, no ground to play at, and now the London Broncos intend to enter administration. Welcome to Super League! The London Broncos demise comes as no surprise to me at all. I wrote about it back in July. I knew this was coming! That a bloke on the other…
Jamie Soward has rubbished claims that he will leave the London Broncos after the club were hammered in their Challenge Cup semi final clash against Wigan. Soward was brought in to try and help the Broncos to the Challenge Cup final but a 70-0 thrashing put an embarrassing end to that. Soward is contracted to…
First of all let me say this. We need a decent Super League team playing out of London. Super League needs it. Every team in Super League needs London to have a Super League presence. This article is not about the health of Rugby League in London. Rugby League is doing quite well in London,…
Let’s not mince words here, the London Broncos are are terrible Rugby League club. They are easily the worst run professional Rugby League club in the world. They are coached by Tony Rea, who I believe to be the worst coach in all of professional sport. The players at the Broncos do not respond to…
The Rugby League Down South Podcast is back! Ian Ramsdale gives you a comprehensive look at Rugby League in and around London and speaks to the movers and shakers on the game in the national capital. Episode 19 looks at Jamie Sowards debut for the London Broncos with Ian talking to the former St George/Illawarra…
A few weeks ago I wrote an article titled What To Do With The London Broncos. I am a passionate supporter of Rugby League in London. Rugby League across Great Britain simply needs a Super League presence in London. Recently the Rugby League Down South Podcast had an in depth look at the London Broncos,…
Jamie Soward has been released by the St George/Illawarra Dragons with immediate effect. The move will allow him to join Super League club the London Broncos as a replacement for Craig Gower who recently left the club. Soward’s fall from grace at the Dragons has been dramatic, and I think unfair. While his form was…
With just 3 wins from their 17 games, the London Broncos find themselves on the bottom of the Super League ladder. As someone that has stressed for years the importance of the London Broncos to the future of Super League, even I find myself questioning the future of the club. Where are they headed? What…
Confirmed: Its is now official, Craig Gower will join the Newcastle Knights for the remainder of the season. Daily Telegraph journalist Dean Richie has tweeted that current London Broncos halfback Craig Gower is “almost certain” to join the Newcastle Knights within the next few days. This news comes just days after it was revealed that…
Right now there is a lot of talk about restructuring the Super League and Championship competitions. Some of the idea’s on the table seem alright. Others are completely ridiculous and should not even be up for consideration. The problem with all of the options being put up for discussion right now is that they do…
The Melbourne Storm are the best Rugby League club in the world. That is not in doubt. Yet here we are in 2013 and the best Rugby League club on the planet is having to deal with the amateurs that run Rugby League in Great Britain, all in an effort to put money in their…
It is an issue that fires up a lot of fans and one I think is pretty clear cut. What happens when a clubs finds itself in a perilous financial situation and is fighting for its life. Should a governing body step in and take control of the situation, or should they stand back and let things…
It is one of the questions I have been asked the most over the last few days. With the financial crisis in Super League seeing three of the competitions 14 clubs fall over in the last 12 months, people realize that something has to give, and it is probably the ability of Super League to…
Imagine that you own a Newspaper based in London. London is the biggest media market in the country, and the vast majority of your newspapers sales are in the greater London region. The good people of London are like any other people anywhere else in the world. They want to be informed about what is…
I’ve been saying for some time that Rugby League in Great Britain, and Super League in particular needs fixing. In 1996 Rugby League in Great Britain was given a whole lot of money to help try and form an elite club competition that would provide broadcasters with a nice amount of content they could show…
Canberra, Newcastle, Brisbane, Townsville, New Zealand, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. These are the names of teams that have come into what we these days call the NRL over the course of my lifetime. The presence of these teams have been nothing short of vital to the survival of the club I support in Sydney,…
I’ve always said that coaching is an art, not a science. You either have it in you, or you don’t. Its hard to know the personality traits that come together in a person that makes them a good coach. I think to a certain extent, you need someone that enjoys helping others develop as a…
I’m a Hull FC fan, and today my team ran up a scoreline of 42-18 against the London Harlequins, despite the fact they were without a few injured players. This season Wigan looks strong, as does Warrington. St Helens are not in top gear, but they are still dangerous. My Hull FC are probably punching…
Wigan and Warrington find themselves in a self made crisis that really worries me. The last time I saw a club in a position that these two find themselves in, it took about 18 months and the very rich and keen owner of them walked away and left them to fend for themselves. That was…
So Super League has finished its latest expansion and we now have a Welsh team in the competition which is great. However already eyes are turning towards a few years from now when all current clubs Super League licenses will come up for review. That means teams with below standard stadiums, poor finances and poor…
Anyone that had read my opinions in recent years knows I am 100% behind the Franchise system that Super League will have in place from 2009. Promotion and Relegation does not work and that can be seen in the financial position of a number of National League clubs who have gone broke trying to gain promotion. However,…