I've written here and elsewhere previously about the potential and importance of the London presence in Rugby League, but the top level presence really seems under threat. Is that something we should be worried about?
It seems that we should be with the rumours that are circulating and Featherstone Rovers touting themselves as replacements for the 2014 Super League if the London Broncos are to fall out even before the likely looking relegation they could face at the end of the 2014 season, with the restructure not affording them special dispensation. They haven't found a home for the new season despite having played their last home game of 2013. A number of their current squad have expressed a desire to leave or are already on the way out for 2014 and there is no news on any new recruits. There are concerns about the patient and deep pocketed David Hughes no longer wanting to prop this club up to perform so badly on the field and in the stands.
Some numbers
Numbers tell some of the story about why things aren't gong well:
(source is information on the excellent resource the Rugby League Project)
A fairy strong relationship exists between league position and attendance that means crowds are bigger when the team finish higher in the league - not very surprising. Also, there seems to generally be declining interest in each of the venues as time passes, as almost every move of home has led to an increase in crowds, but only two other seasons have seen bigger crowds than the one before. The average crowds over the spells at The Stoop are lower than at The Valley or Griffin Park, but then the team has been at their consistent worst whilst at The Stoop.
Its not all about these number though, I wanted to understand things a bit better, so I asked Broncos fans on the RLFans forums what they thought. Most were confident of the team remaining in Super League in 2014 despite the rumours. Many were less confident that the club would stay in Super League after relegation comes back in and some thought this could be the final nail in the coffin that a disappointing number of Northern fans seem to be gleefully building for them (I had no positive responses on Twitter about the continued existence of the Broncos from fans of heartlands clubs).
Off the field
A couple of things that interested me was that a number of respondents wanted to stay at The Stoop, whilst the biggest problem the club faced is perceived to be the management (or mismanagement) of the club. I was expecting a lack of RFL support, resistance from their Union landlords, the cultural background of the game being northern and the lack of a permanent home to be the big problems - these were identified as issues, but the way the club is run was a bigger issue.
My personal understanding was that they had a passionate and supportive owner who had done all he could for the club. The view from the fans is different. The fans seem to suggest the management should shoulder blame for allowing situations to develop where the club are treated like second class citizens at The Stoop, with very limited access to bar and function facilities and even some of the training and medical equipment being off limits for the League players before and after games (not being allowed to use ice baths being one example). There were complaints of expensive rent for use of the facility being charged when such limited access is returned for the cost.
When considering the stadium they are based at, the management need to think of many factors, but surely value for money for the club and full access to the facilities should be as important as location and transport links (which, with The Stoop being off the Tube map, aren't ideal currently anyhow). In a way, I feel for the management as they get pulled in different directions - they needed to meet certain criteria for their licensing applications, lots of fans do seem to like The Stoop and there is a demand for a consistent base, but then they are possibly being overcharged and poorly treated, not being able to raise non-game day revenues at the stadium and it isn't brilliant for away fans to get to either.
Some fans and observers think a move to North London (probably Barnet) is the way to go for the base. Its on the tube map, there is a decent sized new stadium up there and north is better for travelling fans to get to - although this means South London will be left without a pro/semi-pro team but three will be in the north of the city limits. There is also the problem that residents near The Hive appear to hate the idea of professional sport being played there.
Also under question is how well the club links itself with the potential fans. I get the sense there is a feeling of not targeting the right people and not making enough sustained attempts at increasing crowds through marketing and offers. Now, I don't know about this first hand so I hope the club do a lot of this, but examples you read about them not having their own ticket sales line don't give much hope.
I'm also told there isn't a great deal of link to the impressively growing amateur and junior scene in the South East either. I get a sense that the club haven't really been able to foster themselves as an integral part of that community from fans' comments. Again, I hope this isn't a true reflection of how things are really going. There are Broncos fans that feel a link to the semi-pro teams in the South East, but don't feel that same link to the amateur side of things, almost as if there is a split community in the South with the league clubs and their fans as one group, then the grass roots community as a separate group, only bridged by the still small but happily growing number of players that have transitioned form one group to the other. If the club had London junior or amateur sides playing curtain raisers to Broncos games or training around the Broncos squad then surely this would foster a greater sense of community between what seems like two disparate groups at the moment.
Hopefully some of the fans observations were off the mark, I noted that a few of them had little interest in the amateur game so that might sway their responses. If I spoke to people who work in the amateur game, or people who work for the London club, they might suggest a closer affiliation between the two ends of the scale. Certainly comments in this months Rugby League World by former player Rob Purdham and local journalist Ian Ramsdale suggest there is a good and strengthening pathway between the amateur scene and the professional outfit.
On the field
Team quality is obviously another important factor. In the late 90s a few star names were signed into the London scene. Recognisable characters like Martin Offiah helped get publicity and interest, as well as a quality that pushed the team to a Wembley final in 1999. The team was still largely competitive and around the shake up for the playoffs in the first decade of this format, but since the licensing period has been introduced things on the pitch have got worse, not helped in the opinion of some by removing the quota exemptions preventing increased numbers of overseas players signing.
Another possibly linked factor is that the Broncos still have to hold to the same salary cap as the Northern clubs, but this makes them uncompetitive because unlike other industries there is no London uplift in the wages paid - in theory a player may choose to play up North to earn the same money but see less of it spent on rent and other costs of living that are generally lower in the North - an interesting economic argument that certainly got my attention.
One worry I have about the club is the loss of established players - Luke Dorn and Chad Randall are leaving, Dan Sarginson to Wigan is expected to be confirmed soon, Tony Clubb has made his intent to move clear and David Howell is another looking to leave. These are players that have either set records and spent years at the club, or come through at the club. In addition, Mark Bryant, Chris Melling, Tommy Lee, Scott Wheeldon, Chris Bailey and Micheal Witt are also on the exit list. The fans will be losing almost every player they can identify with at the club and with no new recruits announced and no exciting rumours about who might be coming in, 2014 isn't looking like a season where potential fans will be drawn in or existing fans will get a winning team. History suggests a new home might mean a boost in crowds, but then a poor team will not be well supported.
The thing that confuses me here is London have widely been reported to have been spending to the cap. A bulk of the squad has been made up with experienced Super League players or promising local talent, added to by players of apparent quality from overseas. Chris Bailey, signed for 2010, played regularly for Manly, winning a World Club Challenge, before coming to London. Antonio Kaufusi signed for 2012 having played over 100 NRL games and appeared once for both Australia and Queensland, with two NRL Grand Finals in his time at Melbourne. Michael Robertson, having debuted aged 18, played over 200 games in a 10 year NRL career which included a Grand Final hat-trick of tries in 2008 and a departing winners medal in 2011 before joining London. Shane Rodney also joined in 2012 after over 100 NRL games and Grand Final wins with Penrith and Manly. Craig Gower might have been in rugby union for a bit after some drunken misadventures forced him into exile, but before that had played Origin and regularly represented his country, even captaining them in a game against France, as well as winning a Grand Final with Penrith. Recent New South Wales player and NRL winner Jamie Soward replaced Gower for the second half of the 2013 season too. Luke Williamson is another former Grand Final winner to play in London in recent years.
Maybe the biggest issue has been apparent scrimping in non-playing staff, most pertinently with the appointment of Rob Powell in 2010, a man who lacked the presence or experience to really manage a professional Rugby League outfit. Who knows, if they had made a move for someone with a bit more quality in the head coach role might have seen more brought out of the strong experienced players and talented youngsters the squad boasted. Powell was removed from his position towards the end of 2012 season, but the damage had probably been done by then. His appointment was not forward thinking and, unfortunately for a man who came across as honest and likable, was possibly the downfall of the London Broncos on field hopes.
Newly announced redundancies for non-playing staff and a loss of players with no recruitment for 2014 isn't exactly good news for what the club will be able to produce on the field next season either. Relegation has to be the expectancy as things stand unfortunately.
The kids are alright
There are lots of bad things talked about above, but there is a silver lining to the cloud hanging over Rugby League in London and down South in general. The game is developing at lower levels.
We now have two London teams in the semi-pro ranks after the endurance and advancement of the Skolars has been supplemented by the Hemel Stags. Not far away there is Oxford RL and Gloucestershire All Golds represent the South East. That in itself is a good thing for the game. Crowds aren't great, but they aren't anywhere at that level, including at 'heartlands' clubs Oldham and Rochdale. The key is there is a development step for playing talent, and wider exposure for the sport. The clubs are building bottom up and don't appear to be rushing anything. It looks like it can be sensible and sustained, especially if the longevity of London Skolars at that level is an example to go from. Other clubs like Blackpool Panthers have lost patience and tried to rush things with awful club ending consequences. The London clubs hopefully will not do this.
Below the semi-pro level things are its fair to say booming. The Challenge Cup Final match day programme and Champion Schools finals played that weekend brought this home with RGS High Wycombe handsomely beating Castleford Academy in the Wembley curtain raiser. This emulated the win in 2012 by Surrey school Howard of Effingham. Massive participation increases have been seen by education establishments in the South East - almost 300 school teams played in competitions in the 2012-2013 academic year, 25 colleges and 13 universities too (compared to 2 and 6 respectively 2008-2009 academic year). 1500 players competed across 260 matches, double the amount of matches in 2008. This is growing the game and also reaping benefits as 14 local players graduated to play in London Broncos in Super League this year.
There is concern that the sport might not reap the increasing rewards from the talent being developed at junior level if London Super League representation ends. They think the pathway to the top will be lost and these talented athletes will move on to other sports. The counter argument is that the pathway still exists into the professional game through the semi-pro ranks and by the spread of development officials from other Super League clubs. A supporting anecdote to this point would be the amount of Cumbrian players making it at the top level with no Super League club in the area. The difference that would I suppose be countered is Rugby League is a more established sport in Cumbria so interest and desire to play will be a stronger draw and scouting networks will already be well advanced. I think this argument against the need for a London Super League club has some merit personally, but then that doesn't mean the sport doesn't need a top level outpost in the biggest business and media market.
All good news stories should be applauded and encouraged, and the progression of talent to the Broncos and then increasingly on to other top Super League clubs like St Helens and Wigan should be seen as a good news story for Rugby League nationally, not just in London.
So, should we be worried?
The growth in London is bigger than anywhere else in the country. If that growth can lead to a growth in support for a top level club, which you would expect it will, then there is no need to abandon what sceptics have long called the 'experiment'. Maybe London's glory time is yet to come as a much better rounded structure exists for the sport now. If this is the case, we can't risk losing the top level presence now for off field reasons. Sure, there are problems, these to filter through all levels because financial support is the main long-term problem for all of Rugby League, with risk of a reduction in RFL Development Officers and Broncos community staff a real threat to the promising forward momentum. The Broncos themselves have immediate on and off field problems that may be hard to overcome.
However, I think everyone should start to understand that this isn't a top level experiment in London, its a way of developing the sport nationally. We need London Rugby League to prosper for the sport to advance. Yes, we should be worried about what is happening at the Broncos, but not because the effect it will have on the club itself, but the negatives it will bring to the whole sport. The inability to spread, develop and strengthen resulting in a contraction back to our Northern heartlands would be a stick to beat us with, something the game doesn't need in already troublesome times. We should be worried about London because we should be worried about the sport.
I'd love to hear feedback and comments on this piece so please add a comment or drop me a tweet.
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