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The London Broncos are a professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
club based in
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. They play their home games at
Plough Lane Plough Lane, currently known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose football stadium in Wimbledon, south-west London, which has been the home of AFC Wimbledon since 3 November 2020. A groundshare with rug ...
and currently compete in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
, the second tier of British rugby league. Whilst the club has never won a major trophy, they have finished second in the League Championship once and have been
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
runners-up once. They have also won the Championship Grand Final, to gain promotion to the Super League, on two occasions. Originally formed as Fulham Rugby League Club in 1980, they have also previously been known as London Crusaders and Harlequins Rugby League. London's home colours are black, red and white.


History


Origins

Professional rugby league was briefly represented in London during the 1930s by
London Highfield Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the Liverpool City (1906) (rugby league), original Liverpool club of the same name. The c ...
(1933), Acton and Willesden (1935–36) and Streatham and Mitcham (1935–36). All these were speculative clubs set up by local businessmen specifically as money making exercises, and were ultimately driven out of business through poor finances. Thereafter, the sport of
rugby league in England Rugby league is played across England but is most popular in Northern England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire where the game originated. These areas are the heartland of rugby league. The sport is also popular in Cumbria where the amateur g ...
remained exclusively a northern based game for over forty years until the formation in 1980 of a new club in London,
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
.


1980–1991: Fulham R.L.F.C.

In June 1980,
Fulham Football Club Fulham Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of English football. They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spe ...
chairman
Ernie Clay While smith Whisper A'Daire is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Greg Rucka and Shawn Martinbrough, and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #743 (April 2000). Whisper is an o ...
set up a rugby league team at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...
, with the primary intention of creating another income stream for the football club.
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
director Harold Genders, who had helped to persuade Clay of the potential benefits of establishing a rugby league club in the capital, resigned from the Warrington board to become managing director of Fulham R.L.F.C. The Rugby Football League (RFL), keen to encourage the expansion of the sport beyond its traditional northern heartland, accepted the new club at once. One of the game's leading players,
Reg Bowden Reginald Bowden (born 17 December 1949) is an English former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. He played for Widnes, Fulham and Warrington. He played as a . He was head coach at Fulham and Warrington. Background Reginald Bowden ...
, was recruited by Genders to act as player-coach and the club's first signing was Roy Lester, on a free transfer from Warrington. Within nine weeks, Genders and Bowden had assembled a team of very experienced players, most of whom were approaching retirement, together with a few promising youngsters. The club's first match, on 14 September 1980, was a major success; nearly 10,000 Londoners attended the game at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...
to see the newly formed side convincingly beat highly regarded
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
24–5. On 15 February 1981, more than 15,000 were present to see Fulham take on
Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...
in the
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
, a club attendance record that still stands. The new Fulham RL team quickly proved to be very competitive and went on to win promotion at the end of their inaugural season. After that initial success, however, immediate relegation from the first division in 1981–82 was something of a reality check. Fulham played two "home" games against Swinton and
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
at
Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...
in 1983 as the pitch at the Cottage had disintegrated in the wet winter following the collapse of the main drain to the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
under the Miller Stand. The club also played several one-off games in 1983 at various football grounds around London; matches were played at
Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...
's Lower Mead stadium,
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
's Claremont Road ground,
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
's
Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...
and Chelsea's
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...
. Despite winning the Division Two Championship comfortably in 1982–83, a second immediate relegation in 1983–84, coupled with continuing financial losses, saw Clay, under pressure from the Fulham football club board, pull the plug at the end of their fourth season. However, with the backing of supporters Roy and Barbara Close and the appointment of a new coach, former player Roy Lester, Fulham RL still had a future. Most of the existing players moved on as free agents, and a new squad began life based at the
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor Sport of athletics, athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the for ...
for the 1984–85 season. After a single season, the club then moved to a new home at
Chiswick Polytechnic Sports Ground The Polytechnic Stadium is a sports venue on Hartington Road, Chiswick, London. It is the centre piece of the Quintin Hogg Memorial Grounds (now known as University of Westminster Sports Grounds). History In 1888 Quintin Hogg built a boa ...
in the summer of 1985, and would remain there for five years.
Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...
replaced Lester as coach from 1986 to 1987. In August 1986, Fulham hit a serious cash crisis and were forced to withdraw temporarily from the RFL only 11 days before the start of the season, but were able to re-launch in September.
Bev Risman Augustus Beverley Walter Risman (23 November 1937 – 22 June 2023) was an English rugby union and rugby league player and rugby league coach. A dual-code international, he played rugby union for England and the British Lions, and rugby leag ...
was appointed coach at Fulham in 1987. The team was in the bottom half of the second division and continually struggled for success, and Risman left after a couple of seasons and Bill Goodwin returned. Phil Sullivan was coach for just two months between January and February 1989, thereafter Goodwin came in for his third spell and held the reins until May 1989 when
Ross Strudwick Ross Strudwick (born 1950) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. An Australian international, New South Wales and Queensland representative halfback of the 1970s, he played club football in the New South Wales Rugby Footba ...
was appointed. The club returned to the
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor Sport of athletics, athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the for ...
in 1990, this time making it their home for three seasons. In May 1991,
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and Fulham toured Russia.


1991–1994: London Crusaders

Prior to the start of the 1991–92 season the club's name was officially changed from Fulham RLFC to London Crusaders RLFC. A slightly more successful period on the pitch begun at this point.
Ross Strudwick Ross Strudwick (born 1950) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. An Australian international, New South Wales and Queensland representative halfback of the 1970s, he played club football in the New South Wales Rugby Footba ...
was replaced as coach by Darryl van der Velde in 1992 but continued as club manager until 1993. In June 1993 the club moved once again, from
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor Sport of athletics, athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the for ...
to
Barnet Copthall Barnet Copthall is a publicly owned sports venue on the Hendon-Mill Hill borders in London, which houses several complexes, including a local authority-owned swimming pool and gymnasium facilities, a golf-driving range with 9 hole pitch and p ...
arena. In November 1993, London Crusaders imposed a 20% pay cut on all staff to ease financial problems. With the club in financial straights, the RFL briefly took ownership of the Crusaders in 1993–94 to protect their southern outpost, but the club were then acquired by new owners Britannic Shipping; Strudwick stepped down as manager to give the club's new owners a clean slate. Despite the club's financial problems, the team proved very competitive on the pitch under coach
Tony Gordon Tony Gordon is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Gray O'Brien. The character first appeared on-screen on 16 September 2007. He appeared as a regular character for two years before depar ...
and narrowly missed out on automatic promotion back to the First Division by a single point. The climax of the Crusaders' era was a May 1994 appearance in the Divisional Premiership Final at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
; although they lost 22–30 to
Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...
, the club had gone into the game with the knowledge that an exciting take-over bid had just been announced.


1994–2005: London Broncos

In the spring of 1994, just prior to the Divisional Premiership Final, it was announced that the successful Australian NRL club
Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...
was buying the London Crusaders club, which would be renamed London Broncos from the start of the forthcoming 1994–95 season. Gordon was replaced by a Brisbane coach, Gary Grienke. The first home game under the new Broncos name was against
Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...
at
Hendon F.C. Hendon Football Club is a semi-professional Association football, football club representing Hendon in the London Borough of Barnet, but playing their home matches in Kingsbury, London, Kingsbury in the London Borough of Brent. They are curren ...
's ground at Claremont Road, though most home games were still played at Barnet Copthall. For the 1995–96 season the club found another new home base, returning to south-west London at The Stoop Memorial Ground, home of Harlequins Rugby Union Club. Despite finishing fourth in the Second Division the previous season, London Broncos were selected by the RFL to be part of the radical new
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
competition scheduled to begin in the summer of 1996, on the basis that the RFL felt it was commercially essential for the sport's national profile to have a team based in the nation's capital. The regular 1995–96 season, deliberately made brief to accommodate for Super League, ran from August 1995 to January 1996 and saw London included together with the top ten teams from the 1994–95 First Division in a 'Centenary League Championship', effectively a "dry run" for Super League. Faced with much stronger opposition, London struggled and finished second from last. The club moved once more prior to the start of the 1996 inaugural summer season of Super League, this time to south-east London to play at The Valley, home of
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...
, when eventual owner
David Hughes David Hughes is the name of the following people: Arts *Dave Hughes (born 1970), Australian comedian * Dave Hughes (producer) (born 1971), American television producer and editor *David Hughes (illustrator) (born 1968), British illustrator Liter ...
initially became involved with the club. Former Brisbane Broncos coach Tony Currie was appointed to the role of head coach. The team performed far beyond initial expectations and eventually finished a highly creditable fourth, with Greg Barwick the top points scorer for the club. That season also brought the best London home attendances since the first season at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...
.
Tony Rea Tony Rea (born 25 July 1966) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former head coach for Super League club, London Broncos. A former , he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League for Brothers, in the New South ...
retired from playing to take up the Chief Executive role at the club. After only one season at The Valley, the club were on their way back to south-west London to play at the
Stoop Memorial Ground Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a stadium located in south-west London, England, situated just across the road from Twickenham Stadium. The stadium is home to the Harlequins in Premiership Rugby and has a ...
again for the 1997 season. The second season of Super League saw an even greater improvement in the team's performance, finishing a remarkable second to the eventual champions,
Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...
. This represents London's best ever final league position to date.
Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...
's highly successful
Virgin Group Virgin Group Ltd is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding compa ...
became the majority shareholders and primary sponsors of the club, and the immediate future looked very bright. Highlights that year included victories at the Stoop over
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
in the
World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australian National Rugby League and the British Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. Super League sides have won the c ...
and comprehensive league victories against
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
and
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
. In 1998, as part of rugby league's "on the road" scheme, London Broncos played Bradford Bulls at Tynecastle in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
in front of over 7,000 fans. Success continued in 1998 with a first appearance in the
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
semi-finals, losing to
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
. Head coach Tony Currie left the club at the end of the 1998 Super League season and was replaced by
Dan Stains Dan Stains (born 28 June 1964) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played primarily for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, usually as a and as a . Background Stains was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He atten ...
. In 1999, the club went one stage better in the Challenge Cup. Following a famous last-minute semi-final victory over
Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...
, the Broncos reached the
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
Final at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
for the first time, but despite taking a shock early lead in the game and performing bravely, they were soundly defeated 52–16 by red-hot favourites Leeds. The club returned to the Valley for the 2000 season, but sacked Stains after enduring a long losing streak.
Tony Rea Tony Rea (born 25 July 1966) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former head coach for Super League club, London Broncos. A former , he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League for Brothers, in the New South ...
was appointed temporary joint head coach with Stains' assistant
Les Kiss Les Kiss (born 9 December 1964) is an Australian former rugby league coach and player and professional rugby union coach who is the current head coach of Super Rugby Pacific side the Queensland Reds. Prior to this he was head coach of London I ...
. Rea and Kiss managed to steer Broncos out of the slump. In 2000, the experienced
John Monie John Stephen Monie (born 6 October 1946) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He is probably best known for his coaching career where he won ...
was appointed Head Coach. Monie only stayed in the job until the last month of the 2000 Super League season with the club having had mediocre results during his tenure. Rea took over as caretaker coach until the end of the season and Broncos eventually reached mid-table security. Rea then resigned his Chief Executive role at the end of the 2000 season to become Head Coach on a full-time basis.
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
made an approach to the Virgin Group to buy the London Broncos in August 2001, with the aim of buying a
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
place for a proposed merged club to be based in York under a new name, York Wasps. This attempt was thrown out when
Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...
rebuffed the offer as 'ridiculous, and speculative at best'. In 2002, fervent club supporter David Hughes purchased the majority shareholding from Virgin in a major restructuring of the club. The Broncos moved once again, to play their home matches at
Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...
as tenants of
Brentford FC Brentford Football Club is a professional association football club based in Brentford, England. The team competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Nicknamed "The Bees", the club was found ...
. 2003 marked the club's first
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
playoff appearance, losing in the first round to St. Helens 24–6 at
Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...
. The 2005 season was marked by significant activity off the pitch as the club welcomed new chairman and majority shareholder
Ian Lenagan Ian Lenagan (born 1946, Scholes, Wigan) is a business entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Wigan Warriors from 2006 to 2023. Early life Born in Scholes, Wigan, Lenagan attended St Patrick's Primary School as a child and gained an appreciation for ...
who had bought 65% of the shares. This was followed by the announcement of a partnership with Harlequins Rugby Union Club that saw the club return to The Stoop Memorial Ground, this time formally renamed as Harlequins RL and adopting the host club's kit and crest for the 2006 season.


2006–2011: Harlequins Rugby League

Ian Lenagan Ian Lenagan (born 1946, Scholes, Wigan) is a business entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Wigan Warriors from 2006 to 2023. Early life Born in Scholes, Wigan, Lenagan attended St Patrick's Primary School as a child and gained an appreciation for ...
became the majority shareholder in the London Broncos in July 2005 and within a week of his arrival, the team was formally renamed "Harlequins Rugby League". Press releases of the time suggested that this would make the combined club "a powerhouse in both codes" according to Mark Evans of the Union club and provide a "very, very strong future for rugby league in the capital" according to Lenagan. The arrangement between the clubs was described as a "long-term partnership". At the time of the announcement there were many projected benefits of the two clubs sharing and pooling; both clubs were to play at the same ground and have access to the training facilities at the Richardson Evans Playing Fields, Roehampton Vale, though this was little more than a public park and not actually fit for a professional club of either code. In practice, there was no integration between the rugby codes, no joint player development, and the administrative and commercial resource sharing was little more than the RU club allowing the RL club some shared office space. The sole integration programme appeared to be a combined fund raising lottery – which folded long before the Rugby League club permanently left the Twickenham Stoop – and two "double header" match days. These were in 2006, in which the Union side played first, followed by the League side, but the lengthy two hour gap between fixtures was a deterrent to the Union supporters and the majority had left the ground before the kick-off of the League fixture. Plymouth Albion and Leeds Carnegie were the Union opponents for the Union team whilst the Rugby League team played Huddersfield and St Helens. On the field, the Harlequins RL club started with an encouraging 8,213 watching the home game against St Helens on 11 February 2006 but a heavy loss was followed by further consecutive home losses against Wakefield and Castleford, before a thumping 0–60 home defeat to Leeds. It was not until the fifth home game in the season that the team won at the Twickenham Stoop against Catalans Dragons in round 9. Whilst the club started with a goal of 5,500 average home ground attendance by mid 2007. the actual attendance average was around the 3,500 level. A 38–18 loss against bottom of the table Catalan, who were in their first year in Super League, was followed by a close home defeat to a Wigan team after each team scored. Harlequins were at this point 9th out of 12. On 8 July 2006, Ian Lenagan removed Tony Rea as head coach, and moved him "upstairs" to a position on the club's board of directors. In his place, Brian McDermott, an assistant coach at
Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...
, was appointed as head coach. Results at home improved, taking Harlequins RL to 7th place in
Super League XI Engage Super League XI was the official name for the year 2006's Super League season in the sport of rugby league in Europe. Bradford Bulls were looking to retain the title they won in Super League X. The competition kicked off the weekend after ...
. The 2007 season saw the team pull off an incredible opening win against St Helens and by 7 July the team was 5th in the table, but a collapse in form in the second half of the season – a recurring theme of the McDermott reign – saw the team win only once from eight matches to finish 9th. At the end of the season,
Ian Lenagan Ian Lenagan (born 1946, Scholes, Wigan) is a business entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Wigan Warriors from 2006 to 2023. Early life Born in Scholes, Wigan, Lenagan attended St Patrick's Primary School as a child and gained an appreciation for ...
took over control of fellow Super League side
Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...
and was given two years to sell his Harlequins shares. In 2008, Harlequins RL got off to a good start, winning six from the first ten games, but as was customary a second half of the season collapse saw the club won only five from the last seventeen games to finish in 9th again. In 2009, the club was playing very well in the early part of the season, which extended up until 12 June with ten wins from sixteen, but yet again the rest of the season proved miserable with one win from 12 seeing the club slide from 5th position to 11th. Home supporters were particularly displeased with the 0–48 home loss to Castleford and the 0–36 half time score v Bradford. By round 12 in 2010, the club had won only one game from the first eleven and were bottom of the table, meaning that McDermott had seen the team win just twice in twenty three games, and at half-time away at Wigan the team were losing 24–6 before pulling off their finest comeback as Harlequins RL to win 38–26. That result seemed to spur the team into life briefly, with three more wins from the next four, but after that there was an end-of-season collapse to join the start-of-season collapse. The round 25 game at Catalan saw the Quins bottom of the table with Catalan on a similar points tally and the game looked likely to decide who would finish bottom. The Quins were winning 16–12 with just a couple of minutes to go when Catalan were over the line with ball in hand, but Will Sharp stripped the ball from the Dragons player and Quins managed to hold out for the win. The final game under McDermott saw Harlequins lose to Warrington at home; 7 wins from his last 38 games. It was a shock to Harlequins RL supporters to see McDermott's assistant take over but this bizarre decision seemed to be warranted as Rob Powell oversaw three wins from their first three matches, placing them at the top of the ladder. Away wins at Leeds Rhinos and St Helens seemed to herald a new dawn, however, the club's run of success was ended with a club record 82–6 defeat to
Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...
on 20 March 2011 and the team were within a try of losing by the all-time Super League record margin of −80 held by Salford City Reds. After that the Harlequins only won two more games in the next six months and the Harlequins RL era drew to a close when the club played St Helens in their final game under that name on 10 September 2011.


2012–present: Return to London Broncos

The club announced on 1 November 2011 that it would be returning to the London Broncos name from the 2012 season. In addition, the team unveiled a new logo as well as new colours of black, light blue and silver. On 4 February, London Broncos played their first competitive match against St. Helens since reverting to that name. The game was won by St. Helens 34–24 in front of a 4,924 crowd, which was higher than all of their attendances in the year before. In the match, seven players made their debuts for the club. In the 2012 season, the Broncos played two home games "on the road" away from the
Twickenham Stoop Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a stadium located in south-west London, England, situated just across the road from Twickenham Stadium. The stadium is home to the Harlequins in Premiership Rugby and has a c ...
, on 6 June vs
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
at Leyton Orient FC's
Brisbane Road BetWright Stadium, traditionally known as Brisbane Road and originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amat ...
, where they were narrowly beaten 22–29 in front of 2,844 fans, and on 20 June vs
Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...
at
Gillingham FC Gillingham Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent, England. The club's first team play home matches at Priestfield Stadium and competed in League Two, the fourth tier of the Englis ...
's
Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 to 2023 and again from 2024 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium i ...
, as recognition for the work Medway Dragons had done in growing rugby league in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. The game proved to be popular with 3,930 turning up to watch London narrowly beaten 12–14 by Hull. Tony Rea was appointed as the club's head coach for a second time in August 2012 taking over from Rob Powell. In 2013, London Broncos used four venues for their home games with the majority being played at the Twickenham Stoop. On 8 June 2013, London once again played a home game at Priestfield Stadium, this time being heavily beaten 82–10 by Warrington in front of 3,041 fans. On 28 March, London had to play a home game at
Esher RFC Esher Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Surrey, England. Esher currently play in the third division of the English league system, National League 1, following their promotion as champions from the 2023–24 National ...
's ground at Molesey Road due to a waterlogged pitch at the Stoop. For the next home game on 6 April, Harlequins RU didn't allow London to use the Stoop due to a Heineken Cup game, forcing them to play Bradford at
Adams Park Adams Park is a Association football, football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers Football Club in EFL League One, League One, with a c ...
in High Wycombe. London Broncos had a successful Challenge Cup campaign in 2013, reaching the semi-finals for the first time since their Wembley appearance in 1999. In round 4, London beat part-timers
Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...
24–12 and in round 5, defeated Bradford 25–16. In the quarter-finals, London Broncos beat part-timers Sheffield Eagles 29–10 to book a place in the semi-finals. On 27 July, London Broncos' dream of reaching the Wembley final for the second time came emphatically to an end with a televised 0–70 defeat by Wigan, a record score in a Challenge Cup semi-final. On 29 June 2013, London Broncos announced the loan signing of Australian
Jamie Soward Jamie Soward (born 13 November 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and the former head-coach of St. George Illawarra Dragons Women in the NRLW. A New South Wales State of Origin and Indigenous All-Stars rep ...
until the end of the season. Soward quickly became a fans favourite with a man of the match performance on his debut v Salford (scoring a try and kicking five goals) and received a standing ovation from the crowd despite being defeated 30–44. Soward put in impressive performances in his short venture in England and in 9 games scored 67 points (5 tries, 23 goals, 1 drop goal). The club's financial struggles were made evident when, on 20 November 2013, the club announced that it would have to enter administration in ten working days if a new owner was not found. On 3 December 2013, London Broncos announced, "The club will be instructing lawyers to file a further notice of intention to appoint administrators at court, which shall be effective for 10 business days". The club's saviour David Hughes later decided to carry on putting millions into the club. On 13 December 2013, London Broncos announced a move to
the Hive Stadium The Hive London is a football centre near Edgware, London, offering football pitches for hire, conference and banqueting facilities, an on-site gym, cafe, bar and more. It was built on the former site of the municipal Prince Edward Playing Fiel ...
in
Canons Park Canons Park is a public park and the name of its surrounding residential area, in the Edgware district of the London Borough of Harrow, north-west London. Canons Park was a country estate which partially survives today as a public park. St. Law ...
, the new home of
Barnet F.C. Barnet Football Club () is a professional association football club based in London Borough of Harrow, North West London. The team currently competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. The club was foun ...
, from the start of the 2014 season. After London lost 21 players from their 2013 squad, they faced a huge task to build up their squad again with minimal finances. The Broncos managed to retain twelve players from 2013 and in the off season signed 16 players (five on loan) including Tongan international fullback Nesiasi Mataitonga and former England international hooker Scott Moore. Tony Rea quit as coach following Broncos' 11-game winless start to the new Super League season. Assistant coach
Joey Grima Joseph Grima (born 18 April 1973) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach, most recently head coach of the London Broncos. Grima attended renowned rugby league school, Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. Managerial care ...
became head coach, having been asked to take charge for the rest of the season and nex
Rea replaced by Grima at Broncos
Despite several closely contested games in 2014, the team struggled throughout the season against teams with far more strength in depth and much greater financial resources, and finished the season bottom of the Super League table, with only one win. A supporters club (the LBSA) was founded in 2014 in order for fans to have a voice regarding their team. In July, at a pre-match lunch hosted by former Broncos
Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted ...
and
Shaun Edwards Shaun Edwards, OBE (born 17 October 1966) is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player, who is the defence coach for the France national team. A or , Edwards is the most decorated player in rugby league history, with 37 win ...
, the LBSA announced its Hall of Fame, with six inaugural inductees:
Reg Bowden Reginald Bowden (born 17 December 1949) is an English former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. He played for Widnes, Fulham and Warrington. He played as a . He was head coach at Fulham and Warrington. Background Reginald Bowden ...
, Peter Gill, Mark Johnson, Hussain M’Barki,
Rob Purdham Rob Purdham (born 14 April 1980) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An England international representative , he previously played for Whitehaven and London Broncos/ Harlequins. P ...
, Steele Retchless and Scott Roskell.


2015–2018: Relegation to the Championship

On 13 July 2014, London Broncos were relegated from the
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
after a 72–12 loss to
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
. The capital club had competed in all 19 Super League seasons and this was the club's first relegation since 1984 as Fulham RL and the first time the club competed in the second tier since 1995. Relegation bought another mass exodus of players, with the club losing many key homegrown and non-homegrown players. In the 2015 season, London Broncos had a poor season. Head Coach
Joey Grima Joseph Grima (born 18 April 1973) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach, most recently head coach of the London Broncos. Grima attended renowned rugby league school, Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. Managerial care ...
had issues with senior players like Foran, Cordoba, Mathers, Adamson and Lovegrove which meant that by about a third of the way into the season none were selectable. The club trained players went into the double digits that season but of them only Alex Walker and Matt Davis would be successful in the long run. As pressure built, Grima resigned leaving Andrew Henderson in charge. Henderson had too much to do and Broncos were a long way short of making the Super 8 play-offs that would have given them a chance of promotion back to Super League. However a surprise away win in the qualifiers at Dewsbury Rams saw the club make it to the
Championship Shield The Rugby League Super 8s are a feature of the British rugby league system. Between 2015 and 2018 they were played in the top three professional divisions. Following the completion of the regular season home-and-away fixtures in the Super Leagu ...
Grand Final in Widnes but they were heavily beaten 36–4 by
Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...
. In 2016, London Broncos moved to Ealing having signed a three-year deal to play at the
Trailfinders Sports Ground Trailfinders Sports Ground (TFSG) is a rugby ground in West Ealing, London, England, which is the home of Ealing Trailfinders rugby union. London Broncos rugby league club spent one final season at the ground, having been based at TFSG on a ...
, home of rugby union side
Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the reigning RFU Championship champions of 2024–25 but were considered ineligible for promotion to Premiership Rugby a ...
. On 3 July, the Broncos beat
Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...
36–6 to secure a place in
the Qualifiers The Rugby League Super 8s are a feature of the British rugby league system. Between 2015 and 2018 they were played in the top three professional divisions. Following the completion of the regular season home-and-away fixtures in the Super Leagu ...
against the bottom 4
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
teams for promotion. Henderson signed
Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...
playmaker
Jamie Soward Jamie Soward (born 13 November 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and the former head-coach of St. George Illawarra Dragons Women in the NRLW. A New South Wales State of Origin and Indigenous All-Stars rep ...
, who had previously played for the Broncos in 2013, until the end of the season. London Broncos finished 2nd in the Championship heading into the Qualifiers for a place in the
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
. The Broncos started
the Qualifiers The Rugby League Super 8s are a feature of the British rugby league system. Between 2015 and 2018 they were played in the top three professional divisions. Following the completion of the regular season home-and-away fixtures in the Super Leagu ...
with a narrow 34–30 away loss to
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...
. London then won their first game in the competition, setting a record club score victory over
Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...
76–16 at the
Trailfinders Sports Ground Trailfinders Sports Ground (TFSG) is a rugby ground in West Ealing, London, England, which is the home of Ealing Trailfinders rugby union. London Broncos rugby league club spent one final season at the ground, having been based at TFSG on a ...
. The following week, Henderson's team put in a gutsy performance despite going down 28–42 to
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
in front of a record
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
crowd at the ground of 1,845 in front of the
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
cameras. In 2017 the Broncos again finished second and reached the qualifiers for a second consecutive year. The team put in several impressive performances including a close 38–40 loss against Warrington Wolves; lost by just two points against Catalans Dragons away and came within six points of beating Hull KR. However the last two games were both hammerings whilst Broncos also blew the lead against Featherstone to draw on the hooter and only actually beat Halifax. Shortly after the season finished Andrew Henderson, who had successfully managed the club through a troubled period, left to help manage
Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...
. Danny Ward was promoted to Head Coach and in 2018 the Broncos got off to a flying start with seven wins in a row to go first in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
table with five straight wins, breaking their previous record for the best start to a season with a 68–12 home victory over Batley Bulldogs. A mid-season slump saw the club needing an improbable sequence of results to make the play-offs but six wins and a draw from the last seven saw the club achieve exactly that and make Super 8s – the Qualifiers.


2018–present: Promotion and subsequent relegation

Following a strong 2018 campaign in the Championship, Danny Ward carried off the Championship Head Coach of the Year Award at the end of season awards dinner held at the Principal Hotel in Manchester. The Broncos finished second in the regular season and commenced their Super 8s – Qualifiers campaign with a one-point win over the Widnes Vikings in which Jarrod Sammut kicked a vital 79th minute drop goal to secure the victory. This good start was followed up with key victories over Salford, Toulouse and Halifax to leave the Broncos with 8 points in the Qualifiers table sitting in fifth behind the Toronto Wolfpack in fourth, which meant London faced the Wolfpack away at the
Lamport Stadium Allan A. Lamport Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on King Street West in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the practice facility for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. It is also a part-t ...
in Toronto on 7 October 2018 to decide the final Super League place in the so-called '
Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...
'. London won a very tense and defensive game 4–2, thus earning promotion to Super League for the 2019 season. However, in spite of handing table leaders St Helens two of their three losses in the 2019 season, and several other notable wins against stronger opponents, Broncos were relegated after only one season back in the top flight, after losing their final game of the season to Wakefield. With the entire 2020 Championship season cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the RFL advised the Broncos that their present ground at Ealing would be deemed as unsuitable for top level matches should they return to the Super League, so in December 2020 the club entered into discussions with
AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...
to groundshare at their newly built
Plough Lane Plough Lane, currently known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose football stadium in Wimbledon, south-west London, which has been the home of AFC Wimbledon since 3 November 2020. A groundshare with rug ...
stadium in Wimbledon. The agreement was confirmed in mid July 2021 and the club played its first game at its new home in January 2022, a pre-season friendly against Widnes. In the 2022 RFL Championship season, London started poorly and for most of the season were in the relegation zone. The club managed to win four of their last ten matches in the league to avoid relegation and finish 11th on the table. The 2023 RFL Championship season saw London finish 5th in the table and qualify for the playoffs. They would go on to defeat Sheffield in the opening playoff game and then beat league leaders Featherstone, who had finished 18 points above them in the regular season, to reach the playoff final. London would then go on to upset
Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The clu ...
in the
Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...
18–14 to seal a spectacular return to the Super League. London started the 2024 Super League season with ten consecutive losses where they conceded nearly 40 points a game. London earned their first win in round 11 against fellow strugglers
Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...
, recording a 34–18 victory. Further victories came in an upset against play-off chasers
Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...
and the return fixture against Hull F.C. The Broncos finished bottom of the table on the final day of the season, following a 0–54 defeat to
Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...
, having entered the matchweek one point difference higher than Hull F.C. At the end of the season, David Hughes, who had owned the club for 27 years, announced he was walking away from the club. As of 14th October 2024, discussions and crowdfunding efforts are underway to save the club from closure and continue a professional rugby league presence in London. On 24 October 2024, London were relegated back to the Championship through the IMG grading system and were replaced by Wakefield Trinity. In January 2025, London suffered a shock 17-10 defeat to
RFL League One The Rugby Football League's League One (known as the Betfred League One) is the third-highest division of rugby league in British rugby league system, Britain. It is also the lowest level of professional rugby league in Britain. Introduced in ...
side
Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...
in the second round of the
2025 Challenge Cup The 2025 Challenge Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025 Betfred Challenge Cup, was the 124th edition of the Challenge Cup, the main rugby league knockout cup tournament in British rugby league, run by the Rugby Football League (RFL). ...
.


Stadium

The Broncos have played home matches at numerous different grounds around London since the club's original formation. In 2021 they hoped to move their home ground to
Plough Lane Plough Lane, currently known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose football stadium in Wimbledon, south-west London, which has been the home of AFC Wimbledon since 3 November 2020. A groundshare with rug ...
stadium in
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
, as tenants of
AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...
, looking to agree a ten-year lease with break and extension clauses. Until an arrangement to use Plough Lane was reached, the club continued to play at Trailfinders Sports Ground. The Broncos finally began play at Plough Lane in 2022.


Colours and badge


Colours

The original Fulham team wore an all black kit, with a broad white chevron, bordered with red, across the chest. As London Crusaders, the kit used the same colours, but in a variety of designs over the seasons. London Broncos wore red, yellow and blue also in a variety of styles, with red being the predominant colour for the last 5 years of their existence. When the club became known as Harlequins RL they adopted the colours of host rugby union side Harlequins. When the club returned to being known as the London Broncos, the home kit was black with a light blue trim and the reverse for the away kit. In 2015, the London Broncos reverted to their original Fulham colours, much to the approval of long-term fans, with their home kit being predominantly black with a broad white chevron and a red strip bordering the chevron. The away kit is predominantly red with a broad black chevron with white border. For the 2022 season, the club will play in blue and yellow, referencing the traditional colours of their new hosts in Wimbledon. The club have indicated that they will revert to black from 2023.


Badge

As Fulham RLFC, the club utilised the badge of the host football club, which at the time was the emblem of the local administrative borough, Hammersmith and Fulham. The first badge as London Broncos was a red and white crest with a horse's head on the front with London inscripted on the top. This was worn, with some minor adjustments, until 2006 when the club became known as Harlequins RL. As Harlequins RL, the club crest was the same as that of the host rugby union team. This was used up until 2011. In 2012, the club reverted to the name London Broncos and created a new crest, based on the original Broncos badge but featuring a horse's head in a modern stylised fashion, depicted in silver and blue.


Kit sponsors and manufacturers


2025 squad


Club officials


Backroom staff

* CEO: Jason Loubser * Head of Commercial: Mark Kemp * Football Manager: Dom Fenton * Head of Community: John Keyes * Commercial: Izzy Lovell * Head of Medical: * 1st Team / Lead Academy Physiotherapist: * Sports therapist:


Coaching staff

* Head coach: Mike Eccles * Head of Youth: Chris Baxter * Academy & Reserves Head Coach: Kieran Robertson


List of former head coaches

Also see '' :London Broncos coaches.'' *
Reg Bowden Reginald Bowden (born 17 December 1949) is an English former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. He played for Widnes, Fulham and Warrington. He played as a . He was head coach at Fulham and Warrington. Background Reginald Bowden ...
: 1980–1984 *
Roy Lester E. Roy Lester (October 3, 1923 – May 3, 2020) was an American college and high school football coach. After a successful career at the high school level, he served as the head coach of the University of Maryland football team from 1969 to 197 ...
: 1984–1986 *
Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...
: 1986–1987 *
Bev Risman Augustus Beverley Walter Risman (23 November 1937 – 22 June 2023) was an English rugby union and rugby league player and rugby league coach. A dual-code international, he played rugby union for England and the British Lions, and rugby leag ...
: 1987–1988 *
Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...
: 1988 * Phil Sullivan: Jan–Feb 1989 *
Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...
: Feb–May 1989 *
Ross Strudwick Ross Strudwick (born 1950) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. An Australian international, New South Wales and Queensland representative halfback of the 1970s, he played club football in the New South Wales Rugby Footba ...
: 1989–1992 *
Tony Gordon Tony Gordon is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Gray O'Brien. The character first appeared on-screen on 16 September 2007. He appeared as a regular character for two years before depar ...
: 1993–1994 * Gary Greinke: 1994–1996 * Tony Currie: 1996–1998 *
Dan Stains Dan Stains (born 28 June 1964) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played primarily for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, usually as a and as a . Background Stains was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He atten ...
: 1998–1999 * *
John Monie John Stephen Monie (born 6 October 1946) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He is probably best known for his coaching career where he won ...
: 1999–2000 *
Tony Rea Tony Rea (born 25 July 1966) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former head coach for Super League club, London Broncos. A former , he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League for Brothers, in the New South ...
: 2000–2005 * Brian McDermott: 2006–2010 *
Rob Powell Robert Powell (born ) is the head coach of rugby union side Richmond F.C. He is the former head coach of the London Broncos Rugby League Club and former defence coach at Cardiff Blues Rugby Union club. Background Powell was born in Sheffield ...
: 2011–2012 *
Tony Rea Tony Rea (born 25 July 1966) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former head coach for Super League club, London Broncos. A former , he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League for Brothers, in the New South ...
: 2012–2014 *
Joey Grima Joseph Grima (born 18 April 1973) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach, most recently head coach of the London Broncos. Grima attended renowned rugby league school, Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. Managerial care ...
: 2014–2015 * Andrew Henderson: 2015–2017 * Danny Ward: 2018–2021 * Jermaine Coleman : 2022 * Mike Eccles : 2022 –


Seasons


Supporters' Player of the Year Awards

The London Broncos Supporters Association (LBSA) inaugurated the Fan's Player and Young Player of the Year awards in 2014, with Matt Cook and Joe Keyes the first winners. The award has been held every year, with the exception of the cancelled 2020 season. In 2022, a Women's Player of the Year was awarded for the first time.


Honours

League * Division 1 / Super League: ::Runners up (1): 1997 * Division 2 / Championship: ::Winners (2): 1982–83, 2023 ::Runners up (3): 2016, 2017, 2018 ::*
Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...
: :::Winners (1): 2018 Domestic Cups *
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
: ::Runners up (1): 1999


Player Records

''Up to and including 27 April 2025. Current players appear in bold.''


Most appearances


Most tries


Most goals

Of current players, Chris Hellec ( № 718) is highest on this list at 41st with 16 goals in 9 games.


Most points

''Note: Tries scored before the 1983–84 season were worth 3pts'' Of current players, Alex Walker ( № 567) is highest on this list at 16th with 328 points in 180 games.


Hall of Fame

In 2014, the LBSA launched the club's Hall of Fame, and announced seven inaugural inductees. As of 2019, the Hall of Fame has 11 members: *
Reg Bowden Reginald Bowden (born 17 December 1949) is an English former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. He played for Widnes, Fulham and Warrington. He played as a . He was head coach at Fulham and Warrington. Background Reginald Bowden ...
( Heritage № 7) * Peter Gill ( Heritage № 291) * Mark Johnson ( Heritage № 243) * Hussein M'Barki ( Heritage № 29) *
Rob Purdham Rob Purdham (born 14 April 1980) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An England international representative , he previously played for Whitehaven and London Broncos/ Harlequins. P ...
( Heritage № 392) * Steele Retchless ( Heritage № 341) * Scott Roskell ( Heritage № 221) *
Tony Rea Tony Rea (born 25 July 1966) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former head coach for Super League club, London Broncos. A former , he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League for Brothers, in the New South ...
( Heritage № 276; Inducted 2015) * Tony Gourley ( Heritage № 11; Inducted 2016) *
Luke Dorn Luke Dorn (born 2 July 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the NRL and the Super League in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Northern Eagles, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Sydne ...
( Heritage № 440; Inducted 2019) *
Roy Lester E. Roy Lester (October 3, 1923 – May 3, 2020) was an American college and high school football coach. After a successful career at the high school level, he served as the head coach of the University of Maryland football team from 1969 to 197 ...
( Heritage № 10; Inducted 2019)


Team Records

''Up to and including 12 May 2024.'' ''Note: The attendance for the match against Trafford Borough on 7 January 1990 is unknown.''


Biggest Wins


Biggest Defeats


Highest Home Attendances


Lowest Home Attendances

''Note: This list does not include matches during the COVID-19 affected 2020 and 2021 seasons.''


Women's team

In 2021, the London Broncos formed a
women's team A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...
to take part the inaugural season of the
RFL Women's Super League South The Rugby Football League Women's Super League South (known as the Betfred Women's Super League South due to sponsorship) was introduced as a top tier women's rugby league club competitions in Great Britain for teams Southern England and South Wal ...
. In 2022, the Broncos finished the regular season at the top of the table, but lost to
Cardiff Demons The Cardiff Demons RLFC name has been used multiple times over the years. Firstly for a now-defunct men's rugby league side, and subsequently for a women's rugby league side who began in 2021. The men's side played out of St. Peters RFC in the ...
in the Grand Final. The following season they took the 2023 Women's Super League South title with a 22–10 win over Cardiff in the Grand Final. In 2024, the Super League South became the Southern Women's Championship. On 7 September 2024, London defeated Cardiff 28–8 in the Grand Final of the Southern Championship to qualify for the National Championship final.


See also

*
Sport in London In London, a diverse array of athletics stretching from cricket ,football to tennis have further granted its city the spotlight throughout the world. London has hosted the Olympic Games in 1908, 1948, and most recently in 2012, making it the most ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{RFL Championship 1980 establishments in England Rugby clubs established in 1980 Rugby league teams in England Rugby league teams in London Super League teams Sport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames