London players not getting to see Broncos

Rugby league players in London are not getting the chance to watch the Broncos, while some don’t want to, according to one community club secretary.

The capital’s Super League side typically play their home games on a Saturday afternoon, when most rugby league players are featuring for their own community outfits.

Speaking in the Running Rugby publication, Cameron Paul, secretary of South London Storm, said: “When the Broncos do well we talk about it, but we generally play at the same time as them (Saturday afternoons or Friday evenings) and so never get to see them.

When asked how important the success of the Broncos is to participation levels in the capital, Paul added: “It’s not a big factor.”

Many a debate centres around the poor attendances achieved by the London club, both under its new Broncos guise and when they were playing as Harlequins, but this doesn’t mean that rugby league isn’t growing in the southern regions, according to Dan Steel, the RFL’s regional manager for London, East and South East.

He said: “I think people’s perceptions of the success of the game (in London) are too often judged by the success of the Broncos.

“There are a lot of people in London interested in rugby league, but the challenge for the Broncos is that most support other teams and will only go to The Stoop if their club is playing.”

Click here to read Running Rugby’s full report on rugby league participation in London and the south.