No one would claim it is easy building interest in rugby league in London, but the results are worthwhile and Richard Jones, chair of the London Rugby League Foundation is in it for the long haul.
THERE were more players from London in the last England World Cup squad than there were from Hull or Warrington.
There are more community clubs in London than there are in Bradford or Salford. When the London Broncos played in Super League last season 19 of their 24 squad members came from London or the south-east. Yet there is a perception that, at best, London is a rugby league backwater or, at worst, a waste of time.
“Yes, there’s definitely that perception,” says Richard Jones, chair of the London Rugby League Foundation, “but the potential for growth is enormous. There is so much talent and latent interest.” Jones has another fact for those who disagree: “Did you know that more people will watch a live game of rugby league in London this year than the entire populations of Wigan or St Helens?”
As well as being its chair, Jones – a Blackpool-born, Warrington supporter – is an unpaid trustee of the Foundation formed in 2009 when the Broncos played as Harlequins RL. In 2014, following the Broncos’ relegation from Super League, oversight of the Foundation passed to the RFL, which is where Jones comes in. “I was between jobs [by day he’s a director of an online recruitment business after previously working in the financial sector], and I offered my services to the RFL. I’ve been involved with the Foundation ever since.
The Foundation is a charitable trust aiming to increase participation in rugby league across London and the south-east at all levels, with a particular focus on junior development.
“Back in 2014 things were looking good in the community game,” Jones explains. “There had been a lot of development activity over the previous decade and the centrally managed Sky Try scheme channelled some of the TV-deal income to clubs, allowing them to promote the game in schools and elsewhere. We were reaching maybe 8,000 kids a year. And look at what we unearthed.” Jones is talking about the likes of Kai Pearce-Paul from Croydon Hurricanes who went on to play for England, and Warrington Wolves’ Oli Leyland from Invicta Panthers. As many as 80 professional players have passed through London’s rugby league system since it was established.
But in 2018 Sky Try was wound up. “I offered to help keep the Foundation running on reduced income, says Jones. “Which we did through dedicated volunteers, but it never had the same reach.” Now, however, the Foundation is back under control of the Broncos professional club – although still with input from the RFL, the London Junior League (LJL) and London’s community clubs – as the new ownership in the capital attempts to unlock that potential Jones spoke about. “Since Gary Hetherington took over we’ve been speaking to colleagues running similar programmes successfully at Leeds,” explains Jones. “We’ve learnt a lot.
“Now the Broncos are overseeing the Foundation it’s meant we can run games before Broncos matches, let the kids act as mascots and showcase the game. It brings us to the attention of Broncos’ supporters who then attend our other events or join our fundraising lottery. It also means local community clubs have closer links to their professional club. The Broncos’ coaches have run training sessions from under-12s to under 16s this summer, with about 300 kids involved.”
The Foundation is multi-layered, providing opportunities and pathways for all abilities, both boys and girls. This year the best juniors will play a two-match origin series in September (North of Thames versus South of Thames) at under-14s and under-16s from which a south-east representative side will be selected to play counterparts from the likes of Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR. That in turn feeds into next summer’s England Community Lions trials.
“Right now, we have 25 community clubs in the south-east from Brighton in the south, Hemel Hempstead in the north, Colchester in the east and Aldershot in the west. That’s around 2,000 registered players, plus another 6,000 from Try Tag. There’s are another 2,000 who have played in the National Champions Schools or Emerging Schools Nines competitions and a couple of thousand primary school children playing tag rugby league in the London Youth Games. Each London borough sends a team – that’s a lot of potential players.”
Jones points out that many sports teachers are enthusiastic about rugby league. “It involves discipline, team-work, fitness and it’s simpler and more accessible than rugby union,” adds Jones, and schools in London have entered the National Champions Schools competition with some success. “Our best teams have given northern schools a run for their money. The challenge is to keep kids playing or at least become lifelong fans. Since the Broncos returned to oversee the Foundation, the number of primary kids playing has risen threefold, down to hard work by volunteers and the LJL. There has been an increase in teams in the LJL of around 50 per cent, helped by more than a dozen newly qualified coaches funded by the Foundation. Meanwhile the Broncos women are doing well in the Championship and London Roosters wheelchair team reached the Challenge Cup Final.”
So, is the news all good? “Well, there’ll always be difficulties whatever you do in life. But really we’re only scratching the surface. There’s more we’d like to do. Lack of money means we will always be somewhat fragile,” says Jones. “Funding is a perennial problem for community clubs who’d like to spend more on things like schools activity or new kit and equipment. But I hope we’re all pulling in the same direction. What I’d like to see is all our current clubs introduce teams at all age levels and sections. It would double the number of players,” he points out.
“We lost clubs as funding fell away after Sky Try was wound up and there are still large population areas with no club. Back in the early 2000s there were maybe 30 development officers, now the RFL has only one, Steve Guan, although we’d like to appoint more. We’d like the RFL to invest more but understand why that’s difficult.”
Jones is convinced London is fertile rugby league territory. “When the Broncos were successful, they got big crowds,” he points out. “I see no reason why that can’t happen again, especially if local players are in the team.”
And for those who say rugby league has been tried in London and has failed, Jones has a simple message. “Because resources are so limited it means it’s never been done properly,” he says. “When it is, success will follow.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 511 (August 2025)