London Broncos 32 - 10 Widnes Vikings

London Broncos won their first knock-out cup final at Warrington, defeating Widnes Vikings 32–10.

The first two possessions passed without incident, before Elliot Wallis was penalised for a high tackle during Widnes’ second set. The Vikings finished the possession with a deep kick towards Neil Tchamambe, which the winger dealt with comfortably.

London’s second possession resulted in two penalties, with the second awarded five metres from the Widnes line. The Broncos opted to keep the ball and, when it was moved out to the right, Brandon Webster-Mansfield sent Tchamambe over in the corner. Dean Hawkins converted from near the sideline.

Tchamambe was unable to gather the restart, giving Widnes an opportunity to attack. Danny Richardson’s kick into the in-goal area was kept out, although another knock-on gave London possession. Richardson’s next kick was collected by Luke Smith, who was pushed back into his own in-goal area to force a goal-line drop-out. Gairo Voro sent the restart 55 metres downfield, and London’s defence prevented Widnes from making further progress before Richardson was tackled in possession.

Another London handling error came to nothing as Richardson collected the loose ball and kicked towards the corner, where Alex Walker gathered. Rather than receiving the ball back from the resulting scrum 30 metres from their own line, Widnes were penalised after the referee ruled the advantage had been played when Richardson kicked downfield.

In the 20th minute, Hawkins had the ball stolen in a tackle, giving Widnes another attacking opportunity. From 10 metres out, Danny Langtree crashed over for the Vikings, with Richardson converting to level the scores.

Widnes then lost possession 15 metres from their own line when Nick Gregson knocked on. London took advantage, with Finley Glare dummying to his left before passing to Hawkins. The scrum-half shaped to pass right before cutting inside, wrong-footing the Widnes defence and touching down. Hawkins converted his own try.

London continued to make handling errors, including a knock-on inside their own 20, before a high-tackle penalty gave Widnes another opportunity. With three minutes remaining in the first half, Richardson kicked a penalty goal to reduce the deficit to four points at half-time.

London created the first opening of the second half following a repeat set, with Robert Mathias breaking through before his pass was intercepted by Tom Gilmore. Widnes then advanced upfield but were stopped inside the London 20. Further pressure followed after another handling error and two penalties, but Widnes were unable to score when Jordan Johnstone knocked on at dummy-half three metres from the Broncos’ line.

London then lost possession from the resulting scrum, giving Widnes the ball 12 metres from the line. The Broncos held out before Mathias knocked on while attempting to collect a loose ball. A fourth penalty of the half gave Widnes another two points, with Richardson again converting.

London’s defence restricted Widnes’ field position, forcing the Vikings to kick from short of halfway. Richardson’s kick was collected by Walker, whose return was stopped by a high tackle. From the resulting tap, London advanced beyond halfway before O’Beirne made a strong run. On the final tackle, he grubbered into the in-goal area, where Luke Smith gathered the ball to score. Hawkins converted to extend the lead to eight points.

In the 64th minute, London capitalised on another Widnes handling error. Hawkins kicked towards the posts on the last tackle, with Walker the only player chasing. His pressure caused Langtree to lose control of the ball, which went into Gilmore’s hands. Walker then stripped the ball from Gilmore and grounded it under the posts, allowing Hawkins to convert.

London spent the next five minutes inside the Widnes 10-metre area without adding to the score, taking time off the clock. When Widnes regained possession, they had 90 metres to travel to reach the Broncos’ line. Richardson kicked deep towards Walker, who was tackled on the London 30.

The Broncos then moved upfield, making between 10 and 15 metres on each carry. On the fourth tackle, Hawkins found Walker, who passed to Tchamambe. The winger crossed in the right corner to score his second try of the final. Hawkins was unable to convert.

Mathias completed the scoring in the final stages. Gilmore attempted a chip over the London defensive line, but Epel Kapinias batted the ball down, gathered it and advanced towards the Widnes line. Voro supported the run and, as he was tackled after a 30-metre advance, passed inside to Mathias, who dived over between the posts.

The hooter sounded shortly afterwards, with Hawkins declining to take the final conversion as London began their celebrations following the 32–10 victory.

London Broncos: 22 Alex Walker, 26 Neil Tchamambe, 20 Brandon Webster-Mansfield, 3 Robert Mathias, 2 Elliot Wallis, 23 Gairo Voro, 7 Dean Hawkins, 8 Reagan Campbell Gillard, 14 Finley Glare, 16 Epel Kapinias, 11 Luke Smith, 12 Jack Croft, 13 Siliva Havili. Replacements: 6 Connor O’Beirne, 10 Emarly Bitungane, 15 Sadiq Adebiyi, 24 Lewis Bienek. 18th man: 17 Marcus Stock. 

Tries: Tchamambe (6, 76), Hawkins (24), Smith (58), Walker (64), Mathias (80)

Goals: Hawkins 4/5

Sin-bin: None

Widnes Vikings: 23 Nathan Connell, 2 Mike Butt, 12 Max Roberts, 3 Jack Owens, 5 Ryan Ince, 17 Danny Richardson, 7 Tom Gilmore, 8 Dan Murray, 9 Jordan Johnstone, 21 Jay Chapelhow, 16 Danny Langtree, 11 Sam Wilde, 13 Nick Gregson. Replacements: 15 Lewis Hall, 18 Morgan McWhirter, 19 Adam Lawton, 35 Max Banditt. 18th man: 25 Kieran Taylor.

Tries: Langtree (20)

Goals: Richardson 3/3

Sin-bin: None

Match report by David Ballheimer