Leicestershire is hardly rugby league territory but Matt Davis and his brother Sam are putting it on the 13-a-side map.
LEIGH’S recent home game against London saw what is believed to be a very obscure piece of Super League history.
That’s because the tie saw two players from the relative rugby league outpost of Leicestershire play against each other.
The men in question are brothers – the Leopards’ Matt Davis and his younger sibling Sam, of the Broncos.
They had played together beforehand, lining up for the capital club after both taking similar routes into the game from the academy of union giants Leicester Tigers, through Leicester Storm and Midlands Hurricanes.
Matt debuted for the Broncos in 2015 after heading south to Ealing and joining their academy, but has been based in the north since 2019 when he signed for Warrington.
Sam followed at London three years later, in 2018, but barring half a season at York he has been with the Broncos ever since.
“Growing up, it felt like there was a bit of an age gap, but really we’re only two-and-a-half years apart,” says Matt. “I’ve just turned 28 and he’ll be turning 26 this November.
“We never really played with each other at a young age growing up. I think the 2018 season in the Championship was when we first played together, so that was really enjoyable.
“We were like 21 and 19 at that stage so it’s been quite a ride for both of us since we first played down at the Broncos. We’ve had very different stories in those years, but both good ones.”
Loose-forward or hooker Matt made 62 appearances for Warrington, before leaving for Leigh at the start of 2023. He has played in Wembley wins for both clubs, helping the Wolves beat St Helens in the Challenge Cup Final of 2019 and the Leopards see off Hull KR four years later.
After playing a minor role in London’s promotion of 2018 alongside his brother, and making three Super League appearances as the Broncos were relegated on the final day of the following season, Sam was a key man in their 2023 campaign that ended with another surprise promotion and has been their first-choice hooker in the top flight this term.
“I personally think he’s been awesome this season for London,” Matt says of his younger brother.
“Statistically, he’s been one of the top nines in the comp. For London, because they’ve not had the wins, it sort of goes under the radar, but his defensive work is really good and he’s good out of dummy-half.
“I think he’s been working well down there. Considering some of the results they’ve had, he’s shone through. In the games I’ve watched, I’ve been really impressed with him making the step up from the Championship.
“We always knew he had the quality and he was good enough to play Super League – it was just the opportunity hadn’t come about. But he’s taken it with two hands this season.”
Both often talk to each other about their performances in a close bond that is only strengthened by their involvement in a field as competitive as professional rugby.
“We’re best mates. We want each other to succeed in whatever we do,” adds Matt.
“Being from where we’re from and not having things gifted to us in any way, we’ve taken a very long route around to getting to where we are now in our lives and in rugby, so we support each other highly.
“We want each other to get the best possible outcome in anything that we do, so we do help each other. He’ll watch my games and speak about what I’m doing well and what I can do better, and I’ll do the same with him.”
Sam, who is approaching 90 appearances in Broncos colours, recently explained how the pair, who grew up in the village of Burbage, ten miles south-west of Leicester and about five south of the Bosworth fields where Richard III fell to Henry Tudor in 1485, are not the competitive sort of brothers.
“Our relationship with each other is great, we’ve never really been competitive with each other,” he told the Broncos’ club website.
“It’s been more ‘how can we help each other?’ It’s always been like that. That’s why we have such a good relationship. That’s why we are best mates, because we always look out for each other.”
The two Davis’ are believed to be the first professionals to be born and raised in Leicestershire and go straight into rugby league (Leroy Rivett was previously the best-known player from the county, having been born in Leicester, but he moved to Leeds as a child).
It’s a credit to the clubs they came through – not that the Broncos receive much of that.
Under the club-grading system that will almost certainly see them demoted to the Championship in 2025, regardless of where they finish in the table, they do not receive full points for their catchment area.
That’s because they are judged solely on being based in the borough of Merton – despite their reach extending far, far beyond, as the Davis brothers, plus others like Shropshire-born Josh Hodson who now plays for Castleford after coming through London’s academy (see RLW 494), clearly demonstrate.
“The second they got promoted, I felt like they got scrutinised in a way by the IMG grading,” says Matt.
“They got ranked 20-something (24th) which is mental, knowing the culture there, the products they bring through the academy, players like Kai Pearce-Paul who’s killing it in the NRL with the Knights.
“The talent that comes through London and the surrounding areas, they’ve got a lot in place there.
“There’s a few lads from the Midlands, like Northamptonshire (where captain Will Lovell hails). London has a huge catchment area.”
As these Super League siblings are showing, rugby league is all the better for it.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 499 (August 2024)
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