LONDON BRONCOS 14 FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 12
HUW RICHARDS, Cherry Red Records Stadium, Sunday
MORE than 40 years on, simple survival remains the Broncos’ greatest single achievement, and that spirit of resilience has rarely been more in evidence than in this wholly unexpected victory over Featherstone.
Even allowing for their fine effort at Bradford, a run of seven consecutive defeats and Featherstone’s record of four wins in a row, all by at least 20 points, on their most recent visits to London pointed to an unrewarding afternoon for Mike Eccles’ still evolving patchwork squad.
Nor did the opening plays suggest anything different.
London made a horrible hash of the kick-off, Featherstone tapped from ten metres out and Calum Turner’s grubber into the in-goal evaded a series of hands and Thomas Lacans touched down within 90 seconds.
Turner converted and further Featherstone scores seemed a matter of time over the next twenty minutes or more as they pressed London into their own territory.
But the Broncos resisted heroically, and Rovers were unable either to find the moment of deception or force the mental error that would break the defence, in spite of several occasions on which scrums and extra sixes went their way.
Eccles said the defensive performance was: “A nine and a half out of 10, up with the best we’ve done”, with Featherstone unable to add to that early score in spite of having 40 play-the-balls inside the London 20-metre line.
Instead London broke out, and turned the afternoon on its head with two scores in the space of three minutes, both by debutant wing Liam Tindall, who had already caught the eye in defence by forcing his way back into play after being surrounded behind his own goal-line.
He touched down on the left after a long break-out in the 33rd minute, then finished off a move in which Huw Worthington fielded Connor O’Beirne’s towering bomb before finding the Australian, who sent Tindall clear again. On an afternoon of gusting winds, Chris Hellec failed with both conversions from the touchline, and London went in 8-6 up at the break.
The second half was a battle of attrition, with the difference that London looked marginally the more threatening.
But with eleven minutes to go Carlos Tuimavave picked off O’Beirne’s pass to Aaron Small and dashed 85 metres to the London line, apparently destroying their hopes.
But London were not to be denied.
On-loan Wigan prodigy Taylor Kerr forced his way over on the sixth tackle with six minutes left, and this time Hellec found the target to restore London’s lead.
Featherstone still had time, but botched the restart horribly and conceded three penalties in the remaining minutes, one leading to a general warning after a high tackle, to help London hold on for a result whose against-the-odds quality matched anything they achieved last season in Super League.
“It was the epitome of a team effort. Given how new the group is, their togetherness is terrific,” said Eccles, who also explained the Broncos’ pitch to northern talent like Tindall and Kerr.
“Nobody comes to London and doesn’t get better,” he said.
GAMESTAR: Two-try London debutant Liam Tindall.
GAMEBREAKER: London’s long period of resistance under intense first-half pressure.
MATCHFACTS
BRONCOS
1 Alex Walker
24 Jake Thewlis
2 Chris Hellec
20 Aaron Small
5 Liam Tindall
6 Luke Polselli
7 Connor O’Beirne
16 Kian McDermott
9 Curtis Davies
10 Lewis Bienek
11 Will Lovell
12 Sadiq Adebiyi
13 Marcus Stock
Subs (all used)
8 Huw Worthington
19 Lukas Mason
17 Jensen Monk
27 Taylor Kerr
Tries: Tindall (33, 36) Kerr (74)
Goals: Hellec 1/3
ROVERS
1 Caleb Aekins
2 Derrell Olpherts
3 Carlos Tuimavave
4 Jayden Hatton
5 Gareth Gale
22 Calum Turner
18 Thomas Lacans
10 Jimmy Beckett
9 Will Jubb
16 King Vuniyayawa
20 Josh Hardcastle
17 Clay Webb
13 Danny Addy
Subs (all used)
14 Connor Jones
15 Sitaleki Akauola
19 Robson Stevens
21 Jordan Williams
Tries: Lacans (2), Tuimavave (69)
Goals: Turner 2/2
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 4-6, 8-6; 8-12, 14-12
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Broncos: Liam Tindall; Vikings: Carlos Tuimavave
Penalty count: 8-6
Half-time: 8-6
Referee: Matthew Lynn