Emilia's Big Day!!
Jake Watson • 28 July 2025
EMILIA'S BIG DAY
It's not long now until we welcome Emilia and DKMS to The Cherry Red Records Stadium for her big day!
- London Broncos will host ‘Emilia’s Big Day’ to celebrate young cancer survivor whose life was saved by a stem cell donor.
- Supporters can join the stem cell donor register with a simple mouth swab
- This is part of a partnership with DKMS: inspired by lifelong rugby league fan whose baby son needed a stem cell transplant.
‘Emilia’s Big Day’ is a major peak in a partnership between Broncos and DKMS, which encourages rugby fans to become potential lifesavers by joining the stem cell donor register.
Emilia Mackay, 7, was just 5 years old when she was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a rare and life-threatening blood disorder, and required weekly blood and platelet transfusions just to survive. Doctors said that she needed a stem cell transplant, but unfortunately, no one in her family was a match, so a global search began to find a stranger who could save her life.
Emilia’s dad, James Mackay, says, “As a parent, my child being diagnosed with such a serious illness was my worst nightmare. When we knew that Emilia’s future would rely on someone from the stem cell donor register, it was terrifying.”
Fortunately for Emilia, a stranger in Germany had signed up to the DKMS donor register and was identified as a match. They agreed to donate their stem cells, which were then flown to the UK before being quickly transferred to the hospital where Emilia was being cared for. Emilia is now in remission, and since her transplant at the end of 2023, she has been thriving.
James says, “Emilia’s donor changed everything for us. It’s obviously very emotional; the kindness of a random stranger means that my daughter has been given another chance at life. We’re so happy that she is well enough to do the things she loves, and that we can attend rugby games as a family. We are so excited for the event with Broncos and DKMS -- we won’t just be celebrating Emilia, we’ll also be adding more people to the register so that more patients like her can get a second chance at life”.
From 2pm on 6 September, there will be interactive games and activities for all ages, entertainment throughout the day, and food trucks & refreshments at the stadium. Match kick off will be at 4pm. Attendees can also join the stem cell register on the day by completing a few simple mouth swabs. Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer, but currently just 7% of the eligible population are currently registered as potential donors.
This partnership was initiated by lifelong rugby league and Bradford Bulls fan Andrew Foster. Weeks after his birth in 2022, Andrew’s son Rycroft was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Shwachman-Diamond syndrome and became seriously ill. Doctors told Andrew and his wife Catherine that Rycroft would need a stem cell transplant. No one in their immediate family was a compatible donor, so doctors turned to the stem cell donor register, where a match was found. He had a transplant and began to improve significantly, but tragically, Rycroft contracted an infection whilst his immune system was still recovering and passed away aged just 16 months.
“Rycroft was so unlucky not to make the full recovery which a stem cell transplant has offered to so many others, but his transplant gave us more time with him, and every single day was so precious,” says Andrew.
“It’s not until your child needs a transplant that you realise how little most people know about stem cell donation – it’s such an amazing thing to do, and to honour Rycroft’s memory, I wanted to reach more people with that message.”
Andrew will be attending the event on 6 September alongside Emilia, her dad James, and their families. The families will be supporting DKMS as they add supporters onto the register, and answer questions about stem cell donation and transplantation. For patients with blood cancer or blood disorders, every person joining the register could be the person that they have been waiting for – a compatible stem cell donor match, able to give them a second chance at life. In nine out of ten cases, donating stem cells is a simple, outpatient procedure similar to donating blood platelets.
Emilia’s Big Day will take place on Saturday 6 September, at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, SW17 0NR. Gates open and activities begin at 2pm, and match kick off is 4pm.
Tickets for the match are available here: BUY A TICKET!!
INTERVIEW: Ted Davidson's journey to London Broncos first-team Ted Davidson recently made his full first-team debut for London Broncos in the Championship game at Batley Bulldogs. The 23-year-old was a stand out performer despite perhaps being a surprise inclusion in the starting 13. The centre has been in and around the club for a number of years after being spotted playing Origin whilst at junior club Elmbridge Eagles in 2018.
Join us on 23 Oct for a great night including Community Club Awards & Foundation Fundraising!
Awards presented at the Broncos by Rugby League Legend Darren Lockyer
GAMEWEEK: Widnes Vikings vs London Broncos It is the final weekend of the Championship season and London Broncos make the trip up to Widnes Vikings. Broncos were unable to sign off the home campaign with a win over Bradford Bulls but put in a positive display leading at half-time and scoring 24 points against the promotion hopefuls. Widnes have enjoyed a revival in recent months and made a late charge for the play-off positions. Ultimately a defeat at Halifax last week meant they would fall short but will still be confident of finishing the season on a high in front of their own supporters. You can buy tickets for the game HERE!!
LONDON BRONCOS V BRADFORD BULLS (by David Ballheimer) London Broncos (12) 24, Bradford Bulls (10) 34 London Broncos ended their 2025 home season with a defeat against Bradford Bulls, blown away by 40 minutes of power, strength and not a little skill. The Bulls, easily the physically biggest team the Broncos have faced this season, were completely outplayed for the first 35 minutes, when London might reasonably have hoped for a three- or four-try lead. In the eighth minute, the Bulls made a handling error inside their 10 and their desperate defence went too far as they were penalised for a ball-strip two metres from their line. This time, the Broncos made Bradford pay, Luke Polselli taking a short Connor O’Beirne pass and running through a large hole in the defence. Jack Smith, as he would do after every try, added the extras. Polselli figured frequently in attack, unfortunately knocking on five metres away from a second score, but then delivering a superb grubber kick that he almost reached, but Jayden Okunbor touched down moments before the London No.6. It led to a goal-line dropout which the Bulls were able to defend. Quite how much Bradford were struggling was shown by head coach Brian Noble, who worked as a mentor with the Broncos player-head coach Andrew Henderson at The Hive in 2015, came down to pitch-side to deliver tactical and technical advice first-hand. In the 26th minute, London again applied pressure on the Bulls line and, from dummy half, Brandon Webster-Mansfield burrowed under the markers for London’s second score. A third Broncos score before half-time might have put the game beyond Bradford’s reach. Instead, the Bulls made a key substitution, sending on the veteran Chris Hill. The prop, a winner of 41 international caps for England and Great Britain and almost 400 games in Super League, made it a personal crusade to offload every time he carried the ball. The game’s turning point came with a 35th-minute penalty to Bradford just inside London’s half. A kick inside the 20 gave the Bulls all the territory they required, especially when they got a repeat set of tackles. After a couple of carry-ups, the ball was sent to the left where Guy Armitage, given his chance in rugby league by the Broncos, forced his way over.
POST-MATCH: Mike Eccles following final home game of the season Watch the post-match interview from Mike Eccles following the final game of the 2025 season at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. In a wide ranging interview Mike discusses the result but also the plans moving forward for the club. #WeAreLondon
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Bradford Bulls Here is your starting line up for this afternoon's final home game of the 2025 Championship season. Will Lovell and Sadiq Adebiyi return to the starting 13 after injury and Brandon Webster Mansfield starts after being an unused interchange last weekend. Ben Hursey-Hord also makes the 17 after being unavailable last week and Ted Davidson keeps a place in the matchday squad after impressing on full debut against Batley. #WeAreLondon
MATCHDAY GUIDE - EMILIA’S BIG DAY We are excited to be able to share the matchday guide with you for our match on Saturday to ensure you have the best possible experience backing the Broncos against Bradford Bulls. Important times to note: 14:00- Gates open. 14:00 – Hospitality opens 16:00- London Broncos vs Bradford KO CIRCA 16:40- London Broncos vs Bradford HT CIRCA 17:35- London Broncos vs Bradford FT 18:30 – Hospitality Last Orders 19:00 – Hospitality Closes 21:00 - Pub Closes
The Rugby Football League has confirmed an important update regarding promotion to the Betfred Women’s Super League. Following Warrington Wolves’ withdrawal from the competition for the remainder of the 2025 season, the scheduled Promotion Play-Off between the bottom-placed Super League side and the winner of the Northern Women’s Championship will no longer take place. Instead, the winner of the Northern Women’s Championship will be promoted directly into the Betfred Women’s Super League for the 2026 season, subject to meeting minimum competition standards. For London Broncos Women, this creates a historic opportunity. Should the team win the Northern Championship, we would secure promotion to the top flight for the first time in our history – and become the first ever Southern-based club to compete in the Betfred Women’s Super League. Head Coach Colin Baker (sponsored by The Craig Family) shared his thoughts: “As both a coach and a supporter of the women’s game, it’s always disappointing to see another club face difficulties. While this situation has created an opportunity for promotion, nothing really changes for us at London Broncos. Our focus remains the same – to earn the right to compete in the Betfred Women’s Super League. That’s the challenge we’ve set ourselves, and that’s what we’ll continue to work towards.” London Broncos begin their play-off campaign in the semi-final against Salford Red Devils on Sunday 14th September at Chiswick RFC. #WeAreLondon
It’s that time of the year when you get to vote for your 2025 Fan’s Player of the Year for the Men’s and Women’s teams!
