Preview: Castleford Tigers vs London Broncos, Pre-season, 21/1/24.

James Booth • 18 January 2024

It is the first game week of 2024 for the recently promoted London Broncos, who begin the first of their three-game pre-season with a trip to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle to take on Castleford Tigers.

This will be the first time that the Broncos have taken the field for a match since our historic 18-14 victory in the 2023 Championship Grand Final vs Toulouse Olympique.

 

Since the final, the Broncos have had a mix-up in the team with the signings of Sadiq Adebiyi, Robbie Storey, Hakim Miloudi, Josh Rourke, Jack Campagnolo, Rhys Kennedy, Gideon Boafo, James Meadows & Jack Hughes. This is the first opportunity for us to see these players take the field as Broncos and to get a feel as to how the team is coming together before the start of the 2024 Super League season.

 

Prior to this weekened's clash we caught up with one of our new signings, Josh Rourke, who says “It’s definitely been a big step up from what I have been used to while playing part-time rugby… I feel like I am as fit as I have ever been.

 

“We’re at the backend of pre-season now which all the lads are quite happy about and we’re just looking forward to getting stuck into the games.

 

“The reason that I play rugby is to play matches and we have worked hard in the last couple of weeks, so I am really looking forward to putting what we have worked on into a gameday scenario”.

 

We have also added two assistant coaches, Ryan Sherridan & Jordie Hedges, and it shall certainly be interesting to see how the team has changed since last year due to their appointment.

 

Talking about the fixture, director of Rugby & Performance Mike Eccles says that “This is still very much a preparation phase for us, but we are excited to put into practice a lot of the things which we have been working on.

 

“There’ll be around 20 players that we will play”.

 

Castleford Tigers are a Super League team who finished 11th out of 12 in 2023 with a record of 6 wins & 22 losses. The Tigers have played one pre-season game already in 2024, beating League 1 side Keighley Cougars 54-0.

 

Castleford have won the last 5 games which they have played against the Broncos, with the most recent coming in the form of a 20-6 victory on the 10th of August, 2019. However, a lot has changed in the past 5 years and despite Castleford’s consistent run in the Super League, they are facing a motivated and fiercely competitive London Broncos side.

 

Despite the occasion being a pre-season matchup, it is certainly an occasion which is a great first step in what is going to be a huge 2024 season!

HIGHLIGHTS: Toulouse vs London Broncos

by Jake Watson • 16 June 2025
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: Toulouse vs London Broncos You can now watch back the extended highlights of the Championship fixture between Toulouse Olympique and London Broncos at the Stade Ernest-Wallon. Ethan Natoli, Huw Worthington and Connor Barley with the Broncos tries. #WeAreLondon

TOULOUSE GALLERY

by Jake Watson • 16 June 2025
TOULOUSE GALLERY You can now take a look through the best images from the Championship clash with Toulouse at the State Ernest Wallon. Photo credit: David Gibson #WeAreLondon

POST-MATCH REACTION: Toulouse vs London Broncos

by Jake Watson • 15 June 2025
POST-MATCH REACTION: Mike Eccles following narrow Toulouse defeat London Broncos Director of Rugby & Performance Mike Eccles felt that despite defeat in France to the league leaders Toulouse Olympic, it was a performance with "plenty of positives and lots to build on." The Broncos would twice take the lead in the first-half only to be pegged back on both occasions to go into the break 12-12 but a last minute try from Benjamin Laguerre would seal the points for Sylvain Houles side. Watch the full post-match interview with Mike Eccles below. #WeAreLondon

TEAM NEWS: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos

by Jake Watson • 15 June 2025
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

by Jake Watson • 14 June 2025
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

by Jake Watson • 13 June 2025
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SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos

by Jake Watson • 13 June 2025
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

by Jake Watson • 13 June 2025
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

Half-season Tickets now available!!

by Jake Watson • 12 June 2025
Half-season Tickets now available!! London Broncos are delighted to announce half-season tickets for the remainder of the season which offer huge discounts on buying regular tickets for each game. With just 6 home games remaining a general admission adult season ticket costs just £60 which is a huge 100% saving on buying individual tickets for each game.  Buy from the link below.

Who has played for both? Toulouse Olympique & London Broncos

by Jake Watson • 10 June 2025
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.
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