MATCH REPORT: London Broncos vs Widnes Vikings
Jake Watson • 1 June 2025
LONDON BRONCOS V WIDNES VIKINGS (by David Ballheimer)
London Broncos (6) 10, Widnes Vikings (6) 12
London Broncos, for the third time in their last four home games, found themselves on the wrong end of a two-point scoreline. However, Widnes Vikings most definitely deserved to take the points because they dominated both possession and territory, especially the first part of the second half.
All teams suffer injuries and in rugby league, they are a necessary evil. However, what is unequal is the players affected, and London were without winger Liam Tindall, scrum half Connor O’Beirne and prop Lewis Bienek, three key players.
The first quarter was notable for both teams playing almost error-free, albeit safety-first, unimaginative football. Only one set was not completed and, unfortunately, for the Broncos, on the back of a penalty, they lost the ball on the second tackle 10 metres from the Vikings line. Once the game reached the 21st minute, Widnes had their first real opening, but they threw a forward pass.
After this, keeping possession for six tackles seemed to become an almost insurmountable challenge. The Broncos lost the ball on their own 30-metre line after 22 minutes and, two tackles later, ex-London player Rhodri Lloyd was held up in goal. It delayed the inevitable only a few moments as Tom Gilmore’s pass invited Morgan McWhirter to stroll through a hole in the Broncos defence and Gilmore turned four points into six.
It looked as if Widnes were going to score back-to-back tries, but Jake Maizen’s pass towards Rhys Williams was picked up by Jack Smith and the Leeds Rhinos youngster had too much pace for anyone to catch him. Goal-kicking duties fell to Louix Gorman, and he added the extras with a superb conversion from near the touchline.
After half an hour, Widnes started a set on London’s 10-metre line but knocked on after just two tackles. Four minutes later, Ethan Natoli forced an error from AJ Towse deep in Vikings territory, but the Broncos failed to take advantage, losing the ball on the 10. Then, on the stroke of half-time, another excellent scoring opportunity for the Broncos foundered on a knock-on close to the Widnes line.
The second half was, for the first 14 minutes, one-way traffic and it was directed towards the London line. Within three minutes, Williams, a London hero in the late 2010s, appeared to go over for a try in the corner, but the referee ruled out the try and instead awarded a penalty to Widnes for a high tackle. Fans were surprised that neither a penalty try, nor a sin-bin for a professional foul ensued. As the tap for the penalty was taken some metres infield, the assumption had to be was that the high tackle was on the passer and not Williams, who had either stepped on the touchline or didn’t ground the ball cleanly.
Widnes continued to apply pressure and, five minutes later, another former Broncos hero, Matty Fozard threw a short pass to Danny Langtree on a last-tackle play and the second rower went over untouched to make Gilmore’s conversion automatic.
The Broncos’ defending was, it must be said, heroic, but the Vikings lacked a significant cutting edge in attack. Nonetheless, a succession of errors, penalties, repeat sets meant that Widnes needed to make only two tackles in the first 14 minutes of the period (London knocked on two tackles into their only possession). In the 54th minute, Gorman made a superb tackle on Joe Edge and forced the ball loose.
London marched downfield, aided by a penalty, and finished off this possession with a long pass out to the right wing. Smith gathered the ball, cut inside and crossed for his second score. Gorman’s conversion attempt curled towards the uprights and clanged off the right one, bouncing down inside the field. That proved to be the difference in the game.
Mistakes dominated the rest of the game. The Broncos had another superb defensive stand but struggled to take the ball down to the Widnes end. As the minutes ticked by, a couple incidents led to flashpoints. A bad challenge brought down Marcus Stock, who was able to continue after treatment, but his assailant escaped punishment other than a penalty.
In the 74th minute, however, a nasty piece of play from Gavin Bennion resulted in a yellow card, leaving Widnes six minutes to defend with 12 men. Two minutes from the hooter, a pass to Gorman was just too hard for the Hull KR centre to gather cleanly. If he had caught the pass, he would have had an almost clear run to the line. With seconds remaining, Stock was tackled five metres from the Vikings line. He was able to play the ball before the hooter sounded, but London, whose kicking had rather lacked danger, could not score the match-winning try.
London Broncos: 6, Luke Polselli 19 Jack Smith, 14 Louix Gorman, 20 Aaron Small, 34 Connor Barley, 1 Alex Walker, 27 Lennie Ellis, 12 Sadiq Adebiyi, 9 Curtis Davies, 8 Huw Worthington, 11 Will Lovell, 3 Ethan Natoli, 13 Marcus Stock. Replacements: 18 Ben Hursey-Hord, 21 Chris Ball, 22 Matt Ross, 24 Kalum Rathbone. 18th man: 28 Jenson Binks.
Tries: Smith (27, 55)
Goals: Gorman 1/2
Sin-bin: none
Widnes Vikings: 33 Jake Maizen, 29 Rhys Williams, 4 Joe Edge, 17 Max Roberts, 27 AJ Towse, 1 Jack Owens, 7 Tom Gilmore, 8 Dan Murray, 9 Jordan Johnstone, 13 Morgan McWhirter, 11 Rhodri Lloyd, 12 Danny Langtree, 18 Nick Gregson. Replacements: 14 Matty Fozard, 21 Gavin Bennion, 30 Luke Thomas, 31 Adam Lawton. 18th man: 5 Mike Butt.
Tries: McWhirter (23), Langtree (47).
Goals: Gilmore 2/2
Sin-bin: Bennion, 73, serious foul play
Referee: Aaryn Belafonte
HT: 6–6
Penalty awarded count: 5–7
Attendance: TBA
Ebbsfleet ticket offer! London Broncos are excited to announce a fantastic offer for our upcoming games at Ebbsfleet’s Kuflink Stadium in July. We welcome Halifax and Doncaster to Ebbsfleet in back-to-back Saturday 5pm KO’s on July 5th and 12th and have decided to offer a ticket package for the games in Kent. Tickets are priced at just £22.50 for students and concessions for both of the games and then just £30 for adults which is a fantastic 25% savings off buying both individual games.
Away Day Excursion York Knights vs London Broncos Saturday 16 th – Sunday 17 th August 2025 We are pleased to be able to offer an away day excursion package exclusively for London Broncos fans to support the team in York. This package includes: - Overnight stay in the Grand Hotel - Dinner in the ‘Star of the City’ restaurant - A Full English breakfast - Travel from the hotel to the stadium and the railway station - Return tickets from London to York - Director Hospitality Itinerary SATURDAY Train from London to York 5:30pm Meet at Hotel bar for drinks 6:30pm Short walk to the restaurant Return to hotel for drinks and chat SUNDAY - Full English Breakfast in Hotel Restaurant - 12:30pm Meet at hotel bar - 1:15pm Depart on executive coach - 1:45pm Arrive at LNER Community Stadium Buffet in Director’s Lounge and pre-match preview from Mike Eccles - 2:45pm Take seats in the Main stand - 3pm Kick Off: YORK KNIGHTS v LONDON BRONCOS Half-Time and post-match refreshments - 4:45pm Final whistle: celebratory drinks in the Directors Lounge (hopefully) - 5:15pm Coach travel to York Station - 6pm Train to London Cost: £295 per person (based on a sharing a double or twin room)
Over 200 boys have taken part in the first two Development Sessions. The Final sessions take place in June & July. BOOK YOUR PLACE TODAY!
HIGHLIGHTS: London Broncos vs Widnes Vikings Watch back extended highlights of the Round 12 Championship fixture between London Broncos and Widnes Vikings at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Your commentary team are Alex Irons and Lewis Bienek. #WeAreLondon
POST-MATCH REACTION: London Broncos vs Widnes Vikings The thoughts of Mike Eccles following the narrow defeat to Widnes Vikings at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Post-match is powered by Vow-Nutrition. #WeAreLondon
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Widnes Vikings Here is your starting line-up for this afternoon's Championship Round 12 clash with Widnes Vikings. Jack Smith comes in for his full debut after joining on loan from Leeds Rhinos. Meanwhile, Hull KR trio Lennie Ellis, Louix Gorman and Connor Barley all also start. Liam Tindall misses out with a minor injury. #WeAreLondon
MATCH PREVIEW: London Broncos vs Widnes Vikings London Broncos move into Round 12 of the Championship season on Saturday when Widnes Vikings visit the Cherry Red Records Stadium. Broncos come into this one in a poor run of form and take on a side placed 8th in the table and having lost their previous two league games. For the full match preview read the article below. THE SQUAD Mike Eccles has named his 21-man squad for this weekend’s Championship clash with Widnes Vikings at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. This week we welcome Louix Gorman and Lennie Ellis from Hull KR back into the group. Connor Barley completes the Robins trio but Barley is on a month long loan. Jack Smith, a 20-year-old outside back from Leeds Rhinos joins the group as does 19-year old middle Kalum Rathbone from Wigan Warriors. New signing Brandon Webster-Mansfield is set to join up with the squad next week meanwhile Connor O’Beirne and Lewis Bienek remain a couple of weeks away from a return to action.
Matchday guide: London Broncos vs Widnes Vikings 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 Widnes Vikings. Important times to note: 15:00- Gates open. 15:00 – Hospitality opens 17:00- London Broncos vs Widnes KO 17:40- London Broncos vs Widnes HT 18:35- London Broncos vs Widnes FT 19:30 – Hospitality Last Orders 20:00 – Hospitality Closes
MATCH PREVIEW: Sadiq Adebiyi previews visit of Widnes London Broncos forward Sadiq Adebiyi is confident wins are just around the corner as we welcome Widnes Vikings to Wimbledon on Saturday. The Broncos find themselves in a difficult run of form and are just one spot off the bottom in the Championship after 11 rounds of action. Watch the full interview with Sid below and grab yourself half-price tickets on the video. #WeAreLondon
Smith & Rathbone join the squad In this week's 21-man squad we are joined by 20-year-old outside back Jack Smith from Leeds Rhinos. Standing at 191cm tall, Smith can play on the wing or at centre. In 2024, Smith got the chance to develop away from the Rhinos as he featured on loan at Betfred Championship sides Halifax and Bradford. In total, he played five games (3 for Halifax, 2 for Bradford). With the Rhinos Reserves side, he played eight out of twelve games and scored one try against London Broncos reserves. Meanwhile, 19-year old Rathbone will be looking to make his senior debut with his spell away from parent club Wigan Warriors. Rathbone, who is predominately a loose forward but can also play at hooker, spent his entire amateur career at Leigh Miners before signing for the Warriors Academy in 2022 after progressing through the Scholarship programme. He still coaches at his childhood club whilst training to become a full time electrician away from playing, and he scored three tries in nine appearances for the Academy in 2023. Welcome to the Broncos, Jack & Kalum. #WeAreLondon
