Ivarr the Boneless

Sad news. I always enjoyed the Oxford / Gateshead matches, Kev was a big part of that. Condolences to his family and friends.

Apologies Hendon Park Old Firm but the person who saw the badge wasn't given a copy and no longer watches the club. The official who showed it to them has left the club. (Not connected. I personally didn't see it. I 'd imagine it was the football club badge with Wimbledon RLFC added on, probably in a scroll? I think the person who showed it off may have done the design. If so, I suspect any rebrand to Wimbledon RLFC will see someone else design a badge due to possible copyright issues. To be clear, I have absolutely no idea whether the rebrand will be to Wimbledon. I just happen to know it was very very seriously considered previously.

That nearly happened when Broncos moved in.The one year only blue and yellow kit was also going to be permanent, then someone, and I think we can guess who, vetoed both changes. The planned Wimbledon RLFC badge is out there somewhere, a friend was shown it by a club official.

I heard one of the club officials refer to it many years ago whist addressing the fans at a Q&A. I'm afraid I can't remember who but it's the sort of stuff Ian Lenegan was, very open on. I suspect it may have been him in the aftermath of the Quins rebrand? I also seem to recall it was a club commissioned study, but must say I'm not 100% confident on that. It seems an odd detail to remember all these years on, so may have read that element third hand.

There's a strong argument for a rebrand. Infamously a study suggested most people in London thought London Broncos played American Football. Sadly the suffix is also now pretty toxic to many of the minority of southern based people who follow RL. The symbolism of changing name, to break with the past, may well appeal to any new owners / investors irrespective of any desire to use a corporate brand they may own elsewhere.

Iffley Road, Oxford, was a glorious place to watch RL on a nice day. The ground at Abingdon was best viewed on a very foggy day.

40/20 are reporting the London event was entitled "The future of London Broncos and rugby league in London" it was due to announce new owners, key partners and a vision for the future. Hopefully it is genuinely postponed and not cancelled. The club, and sport, are barely treading water down south right now

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/08/nrl-takeover-bid-super-league-catalans-dragons-toulouse Was the room unavailable or is Rugby League ripping itself to bits?

It's been a few years since I went but back then all football kit was banned. Easier to impose than banning clubs x, y & z. The Belfast Giants kit was specifically designed not to carry the colours of either the British or Irish flag. They have done an admirable job. Last time there I also went went to Carrick Rangers versus Donegal Celtic at football. Protestant versus catholic. Almost as many armed police as fans. The two sets of fans spent 45 mins huring abuse at each other. At half time the Donegal fans opened the segregation gate and joined the queue for food. No trouble. After being served they returned behind the goal, pulled the segregation gate shut and another 45 mins of sectarian abuse started. The people who set the ethos at Giants deserve respect.

Guildford Flames etc are indeed largely foreign born players. But the likes of Cardiff and Guildford run large junior set ups, which feed players into tier two and three, which are semi pro and largely British players. They contribute substantially to the health of the sport across all levels. Many lads from places such as Telford and Guildford have made a living from hockey, both here and abroad. One Sheffield lad got drafted by the NHL. Had those lads been born before those rinks appeared they would never have played the sport. This is the real loss to RL through the failure of Gloucestershire, Oxford etc. Who knows what talent will never play RL now. If the Tomkins family had not moved to Wigan perhaps Sam would have been a top ice hockey player? The men behind Oxford were clear, they wanted to be a development pathway. It was close to breakeven financially until multiple northern sides were dropped into League One. After that the standard was too high to follow that model and it all started to go horribly wrong. (There were additional factors too.)

Ice hockey too. The likes of Belfast, Cardiff and Guildford in relatively recent times (all are newer than Broncos) here and plenty of places in America which see no snow. It needs deep pockets from the backers early on and a sport which sees the value in such expansion, but it is possible. It won't happen in RL unless someone can throw very serious money it. The clubs wield too much power. Even when they leave well alone, the RFL keep switching tack. If you speak to the people who founded Oxford, they'll tell you they wouldn't have done it if they knew a group of Championship clubs would be dumped into their division after two yea

As another Oxford fan I was the opposite. I viewed finishing top of the expansion clubs as the key aim and felt they were the critical matches. Shipping heading towards 100 points in a match against the best Northern sides was never going to help the club build a support base. I'll never forget a home player in the Oldham 80 Oxford 0 fixture walking to the sideline mid match and telling his mate he was "so bored." At least he was being paid to be there, the rest of us paid to endure an embarrassment of a match.

The Match issue of 40/20 mentioned an April relaunch and rebrand.

Buying Ealing is almost certainly no go. I believe the rugby club owner has signed the land over to a charitable trust. Even if you got your hands on it, planning is a serious challenge. I believe that's why the stands which have appeared are basically temporary stands which are expected to stay for a while. I seem to recall they had challenges with the height and depth of the stand at the ground entrance end too

Not as big as it seems at first glance. Even if people in, say, the London Borough of Romford or Hackney, are aware of RL they are fairly unlikely to haul across London to watch a game on the off chance. Broncos shed most of their support base when moving from Greenwich to West London. Cross London travel is usually a total pain. If I was marketing Broncos I'd firmly focus on locals for that reason.