Hemel Rugby League

In recent weeks the London Junior League has held face-to-face and online meetings with clubs to address the issues facing the clubs. At the same time London Broncos, for the first time ever, are actively engaging with community clubs rather than just taking their players. So the sport is coming together in the Capital. Nobody who is actively involved in Rugby league in London and the SE is ablivious to the challenges the sport faces. What the sport could do with is less passive supporters and more who will become coaches, touchline managers, kit persons, first aiders, referees etc, etc to grow the sport at its base so that the top level of the sport sits on more solid foundations

Two thoughts: 1. The difference between the Twickenham and Wembley crowds is because RL has about 12 community clubs in London and the South East whereas RU has as least ten times as many. 2. Why not switch Finals venues and have the Grand Final or even the WCC in London

The support Hemel Stags received from the RFL in its path towards joining the then Championnship 1 was outstanding. Once accepted, in 2012, we received additional support to employ a full time Community/Commercial Manager, as well as other support, so much so that when we ran out on the field in 2013 for our first C1 match we had £26k on our shirts as well as another £85k guaranteed from the RFL. The other clubs - Oxford, Uni of Gloucestershire All Golds, Coventry - received similar support. And the four clubs had the additional support of a RFL Club Support Officer - Andy Lindley - who had the specific brief of supporting those 4 clubs. What happened after that is a different story, though.....

I understand Bedford Tigers have expressed an interest in joining League 1

I feel people are being unfair to the SCL. It's a quality community-based competition with an extremely high completion rate of fixtures. The dominant clubs are London-based who have shown their merit in national competitions. The SCL is the path forward for community OA RL in the South. As an aside, Hemel did reasonably well in the the SCL in the 2 seasons after their planned withdrawal from League 1. After that Covid killed off their senior squad and they now rebuild in the East Region with players who have all come through their junior ranks with the ultimate goal of returning to the SCL And there's certainly no way Hemel Stags will be 'Expressing an Interest' in re-joining League 1 as per the RFL's announcement today.

This is very much ancient history but between 2006 -2012 the RFL allocated sufficient funding from their £29m Sports England grant to employ 27 full-time development officers in London and the South East. After that, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, gifted the RFL in 2013 £250,000 to promote RL in East London over a 2 year period. No lack of money - just a lack of direction in the use of it.

It's a lot more complex than simply a lack of money Most people who come across rugby league in the South tend to like it. It's the failure to get them to act as volunteers to sustain the sport, as happens in most other sports, that ultimately leads to the demise of clubs. No easy answer.

What is missing from this debate is an input from IM2 who initiated the crowdfunding appeal and who could provide most of the answers. Whatever, the apparent demise of Skolars, along with other former L1 clubs in the South and Wales must cause great concern when viewed with the collapse of community rugby league in the South

The Hemel teams of the 90's, 00's and most of the teens were dominated by players that were imported from Oz, NZ, France, the Midlands, the North and London. Few local players could handle the standard they were playing at. Last season's OA team playing in the East Region was comprised entirely of players who had come through their well established London Junior League ranks. The same pattern is set to continue this season. Their Head Coach started as coach of the club's U7 Minis and had coached every age group up to U16's before taking over as Head Coach last season. In comparison with Skolars who had to crowdfund when they left League 1, Hemel Stags received a significant cash payment for handing over their RFL membership which they used to part fund the £180,000 of new changing rooms and gym that has greatly enhanced their stadium facilities at Pennine Way

Hemel Stags signed up to Bartercard many years ago. It's an interesting concept with VAT implications. After a couple of years we realised we were paying Bartercard more in their fees than we could recoup through 'bartering' so we were quite happy when we terminated the agreement.

NSW Group 6 First Grade 1965 Ourimbah 0 The Entrance 0 Played in that on a filthy wet Oz winter day as a rookie 17 year old

Hemel Stags have 11 male and female darts teams; their 7-a-side 4G pitch is used by footballers more than 30 hours a week; while Hemel Stags RUFC are affiliated to the Hertfordshire RFU

Hemel Stags are very much alive and well. Since leaving L1 in 2018 the club has had difficulties in re-establishing its adult section. However, this season the club made significant progress in the East Region competition where it finished second. Most significantly its entire squad was made up of players who had come through their junior ranks with the majority being under 20 years of age albeit there was one player in his 40's who played in Stags juniors in the 1990's. A far cry from the club's national leagues days when the majority of players were shipped in from well beyond Hemel. Hemel have remained a stronghold of junior rugby league with large numbers of players joining London Broncos Scholarship and Academy teams. Furthermore, this season saw Hemel as the dominant force in the creation of Girls RL in the region. At the same time the facilities at Pennine Way have undergone significant and continuing improvement to make the stadium the envy of most other sporting clubs in the region. In the coming weeks the Pennine Way Sports Stadium will be the centre of community rugby league in the South with the London Origin Series being staged there along the the Harry Jepson Final; the SCL Final; and representative matches involving London, the East, Midlands and the South West All of this is happening as a by-product of the Stags pulling out of League 1. The club much prefers its current situation rather than the one where it seemed to be judged on its place in the League 1 table, a competition that as long ago as 2014 was doomed. Finally, a note on Will Lovell. Will was rejected by London Broncos for a place in their Academy squad but he was able to stay in the sport and get a second chance thanks to the existence of the North London Stags - a team created by Hemel Stags in association with London Skolars to compete in the National U18 Youth League. After one season Skolars saw no future in the team and withdrew from the partnership and the Stags continued alone.

League 1 in 2013 and 2014 was hugely successful as a development semi-pro league(6 development clubs; 3 M62 clubs. Droping 6 Championship clubs, including Toulouse and Toronto, into it in 2015 made it uncompetitive on the playing field so the expansion clubs decided to leave. Never to return. A real lost opportunity for the sport⁷

It was the 8's that destroyed League 1. Oxford, Hemel, All Golds jumped ship because of them. West Wales followed shortly afterwards and the Midlands have spent the last two seasons based in Castleford. Only Skolars have attempted to stay true to their roots and they now find themselves in their current situation. How long before Cornwall (aka Hemel Stags) find themselves in the same situation