FRESH from switching a game to Rosslyn Park Rugby Union Club’s The Rock stadium at Roehampton for the second time this season, London Broncos will take two matches to Kent later this year.
With their usual Cherry Red Records base at Wimbledon out of bounds due to annual pitch maintenance work, the successive Saturday Championship meetings with Halifax Panthers on July 5 and Doncaster on July 12 will be held at Ebbsfleet United Football Club’s Kuflink Stadium in Northfleet.
The ‘on the road’ matches have become a seasonal feature since the Broncos moved on with football club AFC Wimbledon in 2022, with the Rugby League club using them as part of a bid to grow the sport in the capital.
Five games have previously taken place at the ground once known as Stonebridge Road and originally the home of Northfleet Football Club, who merged with neighbours Gravesend in 1946 and changed their name to Ebbsfleet, a Thames Gateway redevelopment area, in 2007.
The Broncos beat Sheffield Eagles but lost to Featherstone Rovers in 2022, defeated Newcastle Thunder and Toulouse Olympique in 2023, when they also played three times at Rosslyn Park, and lost a Super League clash to Castleford Tigers last year, when Twickenham Stoop was also used as a one-off.
This season, Mike Eccles’ side have been beaten by Goole Vikings in round two of the Challenge Cup and Sheffield in the league at Rosslyn Park, while defeating Dewsbury Rams in the first round of the 1895 Cup at Haringey’s New River Stadium, which hosted former League One club London Skolars.
The Broncos’ other four home games have been at Wimbledon, where after the meeting with Widnes Vikings on Saturday, they won’t play at again until Barrow Raiders visit on Sunday, August 3.
With their Australian chief executive Damian Irvine, a former chairman of Cronulla Sharks who has also worked with Bradford Bulls and Hunslet, Ebbsfleet have been happy hosts to Rugby League.
“Once again, we are delighted to bring the welcome mat out for the Broncos,” he said.
“For the past three years, they have brought entertaining Rugby League to our home and introduced the sport to a new base.
“They have certainly attracted new fans from both our own football supporting community and the local area, and it will be a pleasure to have them back for another two games.”
Broncos chief executive Jason Loubser added: “We have enjoyed some fantastic games there and it has become somewhat of a home from home for us.
“We believe it is vitally important for the growth of the game to continue to take matches to other parts of the south of the country and we look forward to welcoming some more new fans.”
