London Broncos in Ebbsfleet: A brief history
This Friday’s fixture will be the fifth game in the past three seasons that the Broncos have played in Kent and will be the first Super League fixture which has taken place at the Kuflink Stadium. So, what is the relationship between the Broncos and Ebbsfleet and why do we come back to this ground each season? Carry on reading to find out…
When sharing a stadium with a football team who play the bulk of their season during the winter, there is always going to be a level of complication when it comes to the football offseason and the condition of their pitch ahead of the next season. Therefore, for the couple of months which AFC Wimbledon need to take care of their pitch to make sure that it is in optimal condition ahead of the new season, we need a temporary new home to play our games, and this is where Ebbsfleet United FC comes in.
Luckily, when searching for a temporary home in 2022 during our first year at Wimbledon we came across Ebbsfleet United & CEO Damian Irvine, an Australian who has previously been the chairman of NRL side Cronulla Sharks in addition to working with English Rugby League teams Bradford Bulls & Hunslet RLFC who was more than happy to establish a relationship with the Broncos to bring Rugby League to Kent.
The first Broncos game at Ebbsfleet came on July 3rd, 2022, against Sheffield Eagles where we achieved the biggest come back in Rugby League history, overturning a 0-28 deficit at half time to win 36-28 in the dying embers of the game. Take a look below to see some of the best images from our first game in Kent!
The Broncos second game at Ebbsfleet came a week later, on July 10th, where we took on and unfortunately were beaten 22-42 by Featherstone Rovers. This has been the only loss which we have suffered at the Kuflink Stadium.
Despite the loss to Featherstone Rovers in 2022, we observed some very strong support by those local to Kent and recognised an excellent opportunity to grow a new fanbase within the area and this, in addition to the strong relations which the Broncos & Ebbsfleet United had established, were key factors in our decision to carry on using the using the Kuflink stadium to play our games, so we decided to return in 2023 to play two more fixtures.
The first of the Broncos’ two fixtures at Kuflink stadium in the 2023 Championship season was against bottom of the table Newcastle Thunder on July 2nd, who we defeated 56-10!
We then played our second Ebbsfleet game of the 2023 season 6 days later, on the 8th of July vs Toulouse Olympique, who were 2nd in the Championship table at the time. Much to the enjoyment of those in attendance we defeated Toulouse 22-6 and was arguably one of the most important games which helped us secure a playoff place, leading to our Championship Play Off final victory and promotion into the Super League! Check out some of the best images from this game below!
Now, on Friday, we return to Ebbsfleet for the third successive season, this time bringing Super League Rugby with us as we take on Castleford Tigers! If you have not yet gotten your tickets for this event, you are not too late- all that you need to do it click the button below and secure your tickets now!
