MATCH REPORT: London Broncos 20-22 Sheffield Eagles
Jake Watson • 12 May 2025
LONDON BRONCOS V SHEFFIELD EAGLES (by David Ballheimer)
London Broncos (12) 20, Sheffield Eagles (4) 22
London Broncos suffered a hugely disappointing defeat against Sheffield Eagles at Rosslyn Park. It was not a particularly good match; two teams desperate to win but not entirely sure how to achieve it. The Broncos certainly encountered serious misfortune before and during the match which affected their chances of victory.
Before the game kicked off, London had to make a change to their 17. Huw Worthington, one of the replacements, had to drop out and he was replaced by Ben Hursey-Hord, the original 18th man. There is little doubt that Worthington’s experience would have been an asset, especially in the second half.
Sheffield had the first early pressure, but did not really threaten the London line. In the 15th minute, the Broncos broke the deadlock. Kian McDermott made a powerful break into the Sheffield half, but the support was not close enough for a pass. The broken Eagles defensive line was on the back foot and Jack Farrimond danced through it to touch down. Chris Hellec added the extras.
The restart nearly ended in disaster for London as the ball ended up in Sheffield hands 25 metres out. The Eagles, however, couldn’t take advantage and a wayward pass out to the right wing ended the scoring opportunity.
London weren’t so fortunate five minutes later. Former Bronco Jack Bussey, the best player from either side in the match, cut through London’s defence and although he was brought down 15 metres from the line, the Eagles fed the ball out to the left wing and Jack Glover was able to ground the ball by the corner flag. Another former London player, Cory Aston couldn’t improve the score.
The Broncos’ next misfortune came in the 31st minute when skipper Will Lovell received the most unpleasant late birthday present, an accidental collision with an Eagles player. He lost the ball in contact and didn’t get up. After a period of treatment, Lovell left the pitch for a head injury assessment, which he was to fail.
London again made good yards on their next possession but knocked-on 25 metres from the Sheffield line. The scrum went horribly wrong for the Eagles, the ball being passed into no-man’s land in their backfield. As they dithered, Alex Walker and Farrimond sniffed blood – or, more accurately, the ball. The ball was kicked towards the try-line, and it was Farrimond who beat Walker in the chase, so he completed his double and the acting skipper’s career try total remained on 99. Hellec made it 12–4 at half-time.
Sheffield dominated the second half and took the game away from the Broncos. Six minutes after the resumption, on a seven-tackle set from their 20, on the zero-tackle London knocked-on. The Eagles took full toll as Ollie Roberts crashed over from close range beside the posts, and Aston cut the deficit to two points.
The Broncos’ restart went too wide, and a Sheffield player pushed the ball over the sideline. The touch-judge signalled the Eagle had been on the touchline when he leapt, so the restart was ruled to have gone out on the full and Aston’s touch-finder from the 50 went out on London’s 20. Sheffield didn’t score from this, then had a try disallowed for a forward pass down the left wing in the 56th minute.
Connor O’Beirne made his long-awaited return following his long lay-off after an hour and he made an immediate impact, playing at hooker. He made a break, that Walker continued until he was brought down 20 metres from the Sheffield line. The Eagles struggled to get back into the defensive line and when Louix Gorman was tackled, the tackler was penalised. Hellec kicked the penalty to stretch the advantage to an unconverted try.
In the 67th minute, after completing the fifth tackle, London were slow to get off a tackled player and the referee signalled for a repeat set of six tackles – it was the only one of the match, when many other instances (by both teams it must be stressed) might have been similarly punished. This time the Eagles accepted the gift, skipper Corey Johnson bulldozing his way over the line, beside the posts. Aston’s conversion gave Sheffield their first lead of the game.
The score deflated the atmosphere and, from here on, there seemed only one likely winner, and they weren’t wearing black. Within a couple of minutes O’Beirne went down in a tackle some fans felt was high. Treatment to his ankle suggests the height of the hit wasn’t the issue. Five minutes later, a much-loved former ‘Man in black’ Eddie Battye, a star of London’s 2019 Super League campaign, forced his way over from close range. His celebration was distinctly muted.
O’Beirne had bravely tried to continue, but when he tried a long pass, the ball wobbled out of his grasp and he realised he could not continue. London kept possession of the ball and, out of nothing, scored a try to give them a scintilla of hope. Gorman picked received a pass down the left side on the Broncos’ 40-metre line. He burst forward and through two tacklers, ran past another Eagle, stepped out of last-man Harvey Horne’s grasp and dived over the line. Hellec wasted no time in kicking the conversion.
The Broncos now had 40 seconds to score a try or force a penalty near enough the posts which would give them at least a point. After the hooter sounded, Farrimond kicked downfield but there were enough Eagles in position to fall on the ball and secure their victory.
London Broncos: 6, Luke Polselli, 2 Chris Hellec, 20 Aaron Small, 14 Louix Gorman, 5 Liam Tindall, 1 Alex Walker, 34 Jack Farrimond, 12 Sadiq Adebiyi, 9 Curtis Davies, 16 Kian McDermott, 11 Will Lovell, 19 Lukas Mason, 13 Marcus Stock. Replacements: 7 Connor O’Beirne 22 Matt Ross, 18 Ben Hursey-Hord, 27 Taylor Kerr 18th man: Huw Worthington.
Tries: Farrimond (15, 34), Gorman (79)
Goals: Hellec 4/4
Sin-bin: none
Sheffield Eagles: 34 Harvey Horne, 21 Ryan Millar, 3 Kris Welham, 4 James Glover, 5 Matty Dawson-Jones, 6 Cory Aston, 7 Morgan Smith, 8 Eddie Battye, 9 Corey Johnson, 10 Tyler Dickinson, 24 Oliver Roberts, 23 Alex Foster, 18 Jack Bussey. Replacements: 14 Reiss Butterworth, 15 Evan Hodgson, 16 Blake Broadbent, 34 Darius Carter. 18th man: 20 Lewis Peachey.
Tries: Glover (22), Roberts (47), Johnson (68), Battye (77)
Goals: Aston 3/4
Sin-bin: none
Referee: Ryan Cox
HT: 12–4
Penalty awarded count: 4–2
Attendance: TBA
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: London Broncos 20-22 Sheffield Eagles You can now take a look through some of the best of the action from the Championship meeting between London Broncos and Sheffield Eagles at Rosslyn Park with the visitors narrowly taking the win. #WeAreLondon
MATCH GALLERY: London Broncos 20-22 Sheffield Eagles You can now take a look through some of the best images from the Championship meeting between London Broncos and Sheffield Eagles at Rosslyn Park with the visitors narrowly taking the win. #WeAreLondon
Places are filling up fast for the next round of London Broncos Development Training Sessions on 27 & 28 May. Book your place today!
POST-MATCH: Matt Ross following Sheffield defeat London Broncos narrowly lost to Sheffield Eagles 22-20 at Rosslyn Park this afternoon and Matt Ross has asked the fans to stick with the players through the tough run of results. Tries from Jack Farrimond x2 and Louix Gorman made the game incredibly close but it was Sheffield who take the all important two points. #WeAreLondon
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles Here is your starting line-up for this afternoon's Championship fixture with Sheffield Eagles at Rosslyn Park. Jack Farrimond, on loan from Wigan Warriors, comes straight in at half-back to start whilst Connor O'Beirne returns as an interchange after injury. Sadiq Adebiyi continues in the front row and is partnered by Kian McDermott with Worthington, Ross and Kerr making up the rest of the interchanges. #WeAreLondon
Sheffield Eagles: Matchday Guide We are excited to be able to share the matchday guide with you for our game on Sunday to ensure you have the best possible experience backing the Broncos against Sheffield Eagles. Important times to note: 13:00- Hospitality Opens 13:30 – Food Service begins 15:00- London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles KO 15:40- London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles HT 16:35- London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles FT 17:30 – Hospitality Last Orders 18:00 – Hospitality Closes If you are new to the ground, please see below useful information to make your matchday experience with us seamless. Travel: Rosslyn Park Rugby Football Club is located at Priory Lane, London SW15 5JH, near Barnes Common. It is accessible via train, bus, and car. By Train: The nearest station is Barnes served by trains from London Waterloo. Trains depart every 15 minutes. From Barnes Station, it's a short walk to the club. By Bus: Several bus routes serve the area around Rosslyn Park Rugby Football Club including routes 33, 265, 337, 419 and 493. Unfortunately, there is no parking available at the ground. Home Fans/Away Fans: Please may all fans enter through the gate on Upper Richmond Road. From this point, you will need your ticket with the barcode, which is going to be scanned as you enter. You can bring bags into the stadium but they will be checked by security/stewards upon entry. Season ticket holders will also access via this entrance using their membership card. Mug Collection: There will be no mugs available for collection at this match. Hospitality : All hospitality season ticket holders will be situated in the Oblensky Bar. Upon entry, please make your way to the bar where you will be required to give your name for access and to be issued a wristband. Ticket Office: Our ticket office is located at the main gate on Upper Richmond Road. Food & Drink: All fans will have access to the main bar at Rosslyn Park for drink purchases with food available to purchase from La Posta within the ground. Club Shop: The club shop will be situated within the ground offering home and away shirts among other official merchandise from our kit partner, Paladin. If you have any further questions please email lynsey.coleman@londonbroncosrl.com If you still haven’t got your ticket yet, you can get your ticket NOW by clicking the link below
MATCH PREVIEW: London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles London Broncos move into Round 10 of the Championship season on Sunday as they welcome Sheffield Eagles to Rosslyn Park. Both sides find themselves on four points and will no doubt both identify this as a game to get back to winning ways and back on track. Since the last second defeat against Batley Bulldogs at The Cherry Red Records the Broncos have suffered defeats to Barrow, Halifax and York. Whilst for Sheffield they have just one win in the last six Championship fixtures with that victory coming against Batley. This week we welcome Connor O’Beirne back into the squad following injury, plus we have Jack Farrimond joining Taylor Kerr, Lukas Mason and Kian McDermott from Wigan Warriors in a welcome boost. The squad selected by Mike Eccles is available to view below.
INTERVIEW: Connor O'Beirne returns from injury We welcome Connor O’Beirne into the Broncos squad this week for the first time since the first week of March after injuring his knee in the 1895 Cup game against Dewsbury Rams. The Australian half had impressed in his opening three games and has been sorely missed during his time spent on the sidelines. The 28-year-old has cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines but has made a quicker than initially expected recovery and is excited to be back out there on the field.
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles Mike Eccles has named his 21-man squad for this weekend’s Championship clash with Sheffield Eagles at Rosslyn Park FC. The stand out news is that Connor O’Beirne returns following injury and Jack Farrimond is the latest player from Wigan Warriors to join the group. This week we have four players from Wigan with Kian McDermott, Lukas Mason and Taylor Kerr all in the squad. Lewis Bienek remains unavailable through injury and Emmanuel Waine has returned to Bradford Bulls following the conclusion of his loan spell.
CHALLENGE CUP FINAL TICKETS!! It is now just 1 MONTH TO GO until the 2025 Challenge Cup final takes place at Wembley Stadium. Set to once again be one of the showpiece days in the Rugby League calendar we are incredibly lucky to have this game take place so close to us. Tickets for this game can be bought through the club and we ask that any London Broncos fan intending on attending to buy through the official club channel. This will ensure Broncos fans will be sat in close attendance to each other. Click the BUTTON below to buy now. #WeAreLondon
