MATCH REPORT: Oldham RLFC 50-6 London Broncos
Jake Watson • 23 March 2025
MATCH REPORT: Oldham RLFC 50-6 London Broncos
The Broncos returned to league action for the first time in a month with a trip to Oldham and were on the end of a heavy defeat.
It’s an afternoon which may cost more than just a result as Mike Eccles' threadbare squad endured a number of injuries which could have a knock on effect on the weeks ahead.
Connor O’Beirne missed out through injury which allowed an opportunity for academy graduate Jenson Binks to be handed his first-team debut. Despite the difficult circumstances the 20-year-old showed up well with a number of impressive contributions. Broncos started the game in the worst possible fashion and conceded two tries within the first ten minutes. A combination of a slow start from the visitors but Oldham showing an impressive response to a couple of poor results in recent weeks. The start was compounded when Lewis Bienek had to come off for a HIA. An assessment he would fail and the Broncos were without a key man for the rest of the game.
The Broncos would however settle and begin to show some defensive stability and a threat on the break. In fact the Broncos would complete more sets in the opening 40 and have more possession which made the slow start even more frustrating. A spell of pressure from around 15 minutes would eventually pay dividends as Adebiyi would find a great line to charge through and deduce the deficit. Hellec would then slot through a fantastic conversion from the touchline to bring the score to 10-6.
Broncos were wasteful in attack and despite creating a number of good attacking positions the final decisions were questionable and they were to pay for it before the halftime break. It was Oldham’s best try of the opening half as Drinkwater collected an offload five metres out to run through and score. He duly converted his try and it was 16-6 at the break.
There was confidence within the Broncos camp that a strong start to the second half and the game could still be there for the win. Whilst no early tries were conceded what was also apparent was that Oldham were on form and defensively were giving very little away and perhaps confidence in the Broncos began to dissipate.
Lukas Mason was then next to go down for Broncos with what appeared to be a headknock. He would come off and not return to the field. Another blow for the visitors who had to reshuffle the pack again. A few moments later Oldham and Jordan Turner would score again and the score was 20-6.
With twenty minutes to go it felt that the next score was vital. Had it been Broncos with the score then it would have set up a grandstand finish but unfortunately it was the home side who again scored and the points now look certain to be staying in Oldham. Pat Moran with the try and Drinkwater with the conversion. 26-6.
There were a lot of tired bodies at this stage with the players having to complete extra minutes and the scoreline would continue to rise for Oldham as Turner scored again and Drinkwater kicked the conversion. But it was the delay in play after as Broncos dealt with another injury, this time to Walker, who was replaced by Davies and Polselli moved into fullback. 32-6.
The final 10 minutes were a procession as Ashurst, Lawton and Phoenix would all score and rub salt in the wounds and the score would finish Oldham 50-6 Broncos.
It is a big week ahead now as wounds need to be licked and preparation turned quickly to a home game against Hunslet who are still searching for their first league win of the season.
BRONCOS: Walker, Thewlis, Small, Hellec, Tindall, Binks, Polselli, Stock, Davies, Bienek, Lovell, Adebiyi and Kerr. INTERCHANGES: Monk, Worthington, McDermott and Mason. 18TH: Hursey-Hord.
TEAM NEWS: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos Here is your starting line-up for this afternoon’s Championship with Toulouse at the Stade Ernest-Wallon. Brandon Webster-Mansfield comes in at centre to make his full debut and Connor O’Beirne returns to the starting line-up following injury. #WeAreLondon
MATCH PREVIEW: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos London Broncos head into one of the stand out fixtures of the season on Sunday when they make the trip to the south of France to take on Toulouse Olympique. Not only is it a visit to the side topping the Championship table but it is also the destination of one of the best days in the club's recent history. Securing promotion against Toulouse in 2023 was the last meeting between the two sides but despite the Broncos coming out on top that day it is the French who will be favourites on Sunday. Broncos come into this game on the back of a losing run but shoots of improvements were clear to see in the narrow defeat to Widnes last time out and will be boosted by the squad named. Squad Information Mike Eccles has named the 21-man travelling party for this weekend’s trip to Toulouse as Brandon Webster-Mansfield is named for the first time since arriving. Alongside Webster-Mansfield we also Liam Tindall and Connor O’Beirne return, coming as a huge boost for the squad. Sam Winney also returns to the 21 for the first time since breaking his jaw in the away game at Barrow. Jack Smith who is on dual registration from Leeds Rhinos also joins the group after scoring two tries on his debut for the club against Widnes Vikings. Lewis Bienek remains the only major absentee however it is hoped he will be fit for the next game at Hunslet.
MATCH PREVIEW: Mike Eccles looks ahead to Toulouse trip London Broncos Director of Rugby & Performance Mike Eccles has done his pre-match interview ahead of the trip to Toulouse and has offered a positive update. Liam Tindall and Connor O'Beirne are in contention to play following injuries and Lewis Bienek will hopefully be ready for the next game against Hunslet. Jack Smith, Connor Barley and Kian McDermott and Lukas Mason make up the rest of the squad. Watch the full interview with Mike below. #WeAreLondon
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos Mike Eccles has named the 21-man travelling party for this weekend’s trip to Toulouse as Brandon Webster-Mansfield is named for the first time since arriving. Alongside Webster-Mansfield we also Liam Tindall and Connor O’Beirne return, coming as a huge boost for the squad. Sam Winney also returns to the 21 for the first time since breaking his jaw in the away game at Barrow. Jack Smith who is on dual registration from Leeds Rhinos also joins the group after scoring two tries on his debut for the club against Widnes Vikings. Lewis Bienek remains the only major absentee however it is hoped he will be fit for the next game at Hunslet. #WeAreLondon
TOULOUSE TRAINING GALLERY The final session with the squad before we fly out to Toulouse on Saturday ahead of Sunday's Championship clash at the State Ernest-Wallon. #WeAreLondon
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Who has played for both? Toulouse Olympique & London Broncos It’s pretty common when we do these articles that there are a number of current players playing for the opposition, but perhaps Sheffield Eagles and Toulouse Olympique win the record for the highest number this season. So, before you all guess these five, Toulouse have 5 players in the current squad who have featured for London Broncos; Paul Ulberg, Ollie Ashall-Bott, Greg Richards, Callum Gahan and Rob Butler. Let’s focus on some of the players that no longer don the colours of either side and their history with us both; Rhys Curran An Aussie born French international, Curran spent two seasons at London Broncos before hanging up his boots. Still residing in London you can regularly expect to see Rhys coming down to The Cherry Red Records to support his former teammates. However, he can count a number of the Toulouse players as former teammates as he spent a very fruitful four seasons playing for the club between 2016 and 2019 and prior to that he played in Elite VIII for Villeneuve. Through residency (living for three years in France) Curran would play three times for the French national team in 2018.
FANS FORUM - WHAT WAS SAID? Question: Are we going to change our name from London Broncos? GH: I changed the name at Leeds and I can tell you that at the time it was unpopular. The fans of Leeds didn't want to change names. They said, we don't want all these gimmicky names. We did change, and this is the best thing we ever did. They created a new logo, a new brand, a new identity in many respects, a new mascot, and it's the best thing we ever did. If you ask 99% of the Leeds Rhinos fans now they will say that was a pretty good decision. For us, it is being researched and ultimately no decision has been made and everyone needs to have an opinion and give it to me. It may well be (changed), and I was with a fairly prominent person the other day who came up with a very well-reasoned recommendation as to what the name should be. I thought, well, I never really thought about that, but it was a well-presented argument. We need as many of those as possible. We need to think about it and ultimately make a decision in the best interests of the club. Question: Are you going to share it? (suggestion for new name) GH: Well, since you've asked me the question, I will, yes. I won't give you the name of the person I'm talking to, but he's a very prominent person in the media, he's a Rugby League fan, and he's not an Englishman. But he was saying, in his opinion, the name should be simply London Rugby League. I said to him thank you very much for your suggestion and that it needs to be in the melting pot like all the other suggestions. Question: On behalf of all the long-standing London fans in this room tonight, and I know most of them personally, we've all been together for many years. Can we just thank you for the interest and the commitment you've taken to The Club? Thank you. Honestly, it's created a superb momentum because of someone of your stature being involved in London. So, thank you very much. GH: Well, thank you for that, and I feel very humbled by that and what I don't want to do is make any false promises. I think this is a fascinating journey, but it's a journey that I don't know how long it's going to take. What I do know is it's all based on people's commitments coming together and as I've said several times, I don't have a magic wand. I think my role is to actually galvanise interest and commitment and try and give it an opportunity, manifesting itself for the collective good of the club. That's primarily my role in all of this. And I can see by the attendance tonight that there's a great passion and a great interest and a great commitment as well. So that's a pretty good starting point. So I'm pretty confident that we've got quite a few ingredients in place. It's going to be a tough journey because it's a tough league. The Super League is an incredibly tough competition. The Championship is a terrific competition and it's so competitive. So to make progress we need to be pretty well organised and ready to go. We're ready to go and ready to make progress and my role in all this is to try and actually organise that and make it happen.
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GAMEWEEK: Toulouse vs London Broncos London Broncos move into Round 13 of the Championship this season with an away trip to the league leaders Toulouse Olympique. With it undoubtedly one of the toughest tests of the season so far Mike Eccles will be looking to draw on inspiration from the last visit to Toulouse which saw us beat Sylvain Houles side and secure a place back in Super League. An update from the head coach will come later in the week but fans will be hoping to hear good news on the injury front with a number of key players closing in on a return to action.
