Match Report: Midlands Hurricanes

Midlands Hurricanes 24 - 62 London Broncos

London Broncos secure a spot in the 1895 Cup Final after a semi-final victory over Midlands Hurricanes.

The Broncos opened the scoring in the second minute when quick passing to the right created space for Brandon Webster-Mansfield to cross. Jimmy Meadows converted for a 6–0 lead.

Midlands responded with sustained possession but were unable to score. A dropped ball forced by Meadows’ defensive pressure gave London field position inside the Hurricanes’ 20-metre area. After further exchanges of possession, Webster-Mansfield scored his second try in the 15th minute following passing from Luke Smith and Meadows. Meadows converted to make it 12–0.

Midlands reduced the deficit in the 27th minute when Cain Tyrer scored, with Sully Medforth converting. Prior to that score, both teams had completed sets without creating clear scoring opportunities, and London had conceded penalties for offside infringements.

London responded through two tries in quick succession. In the 32nd minute, Connor O’Beirne broke through the defensive line and offloaded to Gairo Voro, who provided the final pass for Finley Glare to score. Meadows converted.

Two minutes later, Glare broke from dummy half and passed to Voro, who scored London's fourth try. Meadows again converted, extending the lead to 24–6.

Midlands remained in contention and scored shortly before half-time through Sully Medforth after London conceded a penalty and later knocked on inside their own 20. Medforth converted his own try, reducing the score to 24–12 at the break.

London extended their advantage early in the second half. Two minutes after the restart, Alex Walker's cut-out pass sent Webster-Mansfield over for his third try. The conversion was missed, leaving the score at 28–12.

Midlands struck back in the 47th minute when James Woodburn-Hall scored and Medforth converted, narrowing the margin to 28–18.



The Broncos then produced a sequence of five tries in 18 minutes. Finley Glare scored his second try in the 53rd minute after collecting possession from a scrum. Meadows was unable to convert.

After a short goal-line drop-out was collected by O’Beirne, Webster-Mansfield completed his fourth try in the 60th minute following an around-the-back offload from Walker. Meadows converted for a 38–18 lead.

Siliva Havili, who had returned to the field a minute earlier, scored from dummy half in the 65th minute. Meadows converted.

Two minutes later, Lewis Bienek broke through the defensive line and passed to Walker, who scored. Meadows added the conversion to make it 50–18.

In the 70th minute, Voro broke through the line and was tackled high, resulting in a penalty. From the ensuing possession, O’Beirne scored from short range. Meadows converted.

Midlands added their fourth try in the 75th minute through Elliot Morris, with Medforth converting to make the score 56–24.

The final score came two minutes from time when Dean Hawkins provided a short pass for Ben Hursey-Hord to cross. Meadows converted to complete the scoring at 62–24.

London Broncos: 22 Alex Walker, 20 Brandon Webster-Mansfield, 18 Jimmy Meadows,  27 Teddy Davidson,  2 Elliot Wallis, 23 Gairo Voro, 7 Dean Hawkins, 8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 13 Siliva Havili, 10 Emarly Bitungane, 11 Luke Smith,  19 Ben Hursey-Hord, 15 Sadiq Adebiyi

Replacements: 14 Finley Glare, 17 Marcus Stock, 6 Connor O'Beirne, 24 Lewis Bienek 18th man: 5 Liam Tindall

Tries: Webster-Mansfield (2, 15, 42, 60), Glare (32, 53), Voro (34), Havili (65), Walker (67), O'Beirne (71), Hursey-Hord (78)

Goals: Meadows 9/11

Midlands Hurricanes: 1 Todd Horner, 22 Cian Tyrer, 3 Ryan Johnson, 2 Matty Chrimes, 23 Aidan McGowan, 19 Sully Medforth, 30 James Woodburn-Hall, 10 Tyler Dickinson, 14 Brandon Moore, 8 Jon-Luke Kirby, 21 Zach Jebson, 11 Tom Wilkinson, 15 Elliott Morris

Replacements: 9 Aiden Roden, 13 Mikey Wood, 16 Zeus Silk, 28 Isaac Shaw 18th man: 26 Ethan Newboult

Tries: McGowan (27), Medforth (39), Woodburn-Hall (47), Morris (75)

Goals: Medforth 4/4