London Junior Leagues

[welshmagpie]

Tried to find accurate info online and could only find a 4 team U16s league and a 3 team U14s league. Anyone able to confirm?

I’m pretty sure in previous seasons there was an U12s league and leagues of 6+ teams for each age group.

Sad to see as we know the talent that London can produce can only be sustained through deeper roots. 

[Archie Gordon]

29 minutes ago, welshmagpie said:

Tried to find accurate info online and could only find a 4 team U16s league and a 3 team U14s league. Anyone able to confirm?

I’m pretty sure in previous seasons there was an U12s league and leagues of 6+ teams for each age group.

Sad to see as we know the talent that London can produce can only be sustained through deeper roots. 

There is a bit more to this than meets the eye.

A 4-team u12s league starts on Saturday so is probably not yet listed on rugby-league.com. Primary rugby (u6-u11s) - which had pretty much fallen away since Covid - is also much healthier this year.

At u18s, there are 3 teams competing in merit fixtures - there was nothing last year. Sigma College (Colchester) recently lost in the national final. Newman College (Brighton) are another strong college team.

U14s - there are a few teams playing merit fixtures outside the league structure, including Feltham who are Richmond re-born after a couple of years away. U16s likewise, including Bedford who have restarted at that age group.

In my view, 2024 is a year of consolidation in the league structure whilst a similar number of clubs outside that build up towards league (re-)entry in 2025. For comparison: last year, 8 clubs ran at least one junior team, this year it could be 10 or 11.

It is tough going - and the game down here has its problems - but the league tables don't show the full picture of activity.

[welshmagpie]

Massive thanks for the clarification @Archie Gordon - a rosier picture than met the eye. Thank you. 

[ATLANTISMAN]

Biggest problem is not at junior level it's where do the kids go afterwards 

Edited May 6 by ATLANTISMAN

[Magic XIII]

Read this on Twitter and it painited a bad picture, but maybe everything isnt as bad as it seems.

London Broncos normally attend an end of season Origin series - which itself has decreased in age groups - and identify the talent, now it looks like they are running their own Origin as they are promoting it on social media.

 

[Hanover XIII]

On 06/05/2024 at 09:10, Archie Gordon said:

There is a bit more to this than meets the eye.

A 4-team u12s league starts on Saturday so is probably not yet listed on rugby-league.com. Primary rugby (u6-u11s) - which had pretty much fallen away since Covid - is also much healthier this year.

At u18s, there are 3 teams competing in merit fixtures - there was nothing last year. Sigma College (Colchester) recently lost in the national final. Newman College (Brighton) are another strong college team.

U14s - there are a few teams playing merit fixtures outside the league structure, including Feltham who are Richmond re-born after a couple of years away. U16s likewise, including Bedford who have restarted at that age group.

In my view, 2024 is a year of consolidation in the league structure whilst a similar number of clubs outside that build up towards league (re-)entry in 2025. For comparison: last year, 8 clubs ran at least one junior team, this year it could be 10 or 11.

It is tough going - and the game down here has its problems - but the league tables don't show the full picture of activity.

A friend's son plays at Newman and they have just gone out of the national colleges cup against Carmel College in St Helens having previously beaten teams from Halifax and Hull. It's traditionally a Union college but there's clearly some age group talent. A few attended the England regional trials at Brentwood.