London Broncos chalk up Super League win in front of 30,000 crowd at Elland Road

BY RICHARD JAMES

London Broncos gave their best performance of the Super League season to win 29-4 against Hull in front of a bumper crowd of more than 30,000 at Elland Road on Saturday.

The home of Leeds United hosted six matches in a festival of rugby league, dubbed the ‘Magic Weekend’, and the Broncos were given the honour of opening the schedule in a crucial bottom-of-the-table battle.

The sides exchanged early tries in an error-strewn start but London took the initiative in the 25th minute with a sensational move that was started and finished by Jack Campagnolo. A high kick from the Italian international was well-taken by Josh Rourke, who produced an audacious, behind-the-back offload to Hakim Miloudi. Miloudi provided another offload, this time to Campagnolo, who strolled over the line unmarked to score his first try of the season.

The remainder of the first half saw periods of intense pressure as Hull were camped on the Broncos’ try line.  Earlier in the season, London’s defence would have buckled but Mike Eccles has worked wonders with this team and the way that they defended in this game shows the hard work that has been put in by the squad.

London went in at half time with a 12-4 lead and the healthy travelling support was in full voice at this stage.  Elland Road doesn’t allow musical instruments in the stands so the fanbase turned up the volume with their voices to make up for the lack of the usual drum and bugle.  It was also very evident that most of the crowd in the stadium were supporting the Broncos in this game. The team’s underdogs status and style in attack seemingly winning over the neutrals.

Perhaps it was this support that inspired the players to push on in the second half and it was Broncos who started well by forcing some pressure on the Hull defence. Eventually, the Yorkshire side made a mistake and London took the two points on offer with Olli Leyland kicking a penalty and increasing the lead to 10 points.

Hull knew they needed to score next and pushed hard with repeated sets of six as the game approached the hour mark. The Black and Whites are near the foot of the table for a reason, however, and despite the pressure, they lacked the necessary creativity and Broncos held strong once more. The pressure was eventually released with a knock on from Hull, followed by a penalty for offside.

This gave London the advantage and, once again, they forced a mistake to earn a penalty within kicking range and Leyland duly took the two points available.

With the lead now at 12 points, it meant that Hull would need two converted tries to draw level. A good lead, but nobody was able to relax yet.  Leads have been lost late in games before, including at the fixture in Hull earlier in the season.

This time was different though and the game was put to bed with a drop goal from Leyland 10 minutes from time. A 13-point lead meant Hull would need three tries and this was the cue for some celebrations to start in the stands.

The pressure seemed to lift on the field too with London starting to play some champagne rugby.

Their third try again started with Campagnolo, king of the high ball. This time he launched one straight down the middle for Rourke to chase. The way he claimed it was the definition of magic as he leapt over the Hull full back, catching the ball in the air and grounding it as he landed to score his second try of the day.

As the game entered its final stages, Leyland passed the ball to Emmanuel Waine, who produced some amazing skill to palm off two forwards before powering through the Hull defence and then passing back to Leyland, who danced his way over the line to seal a hugely impressive 29-4 win.

Rourke took the man of the match award.

Broncos deserve huge credit for how they have grown throughout the year and it would be a huge statement if they can finish above Saturday’s opponents in the final table.

London and Hull are now level on points with three wins each and the next two home games could be crucial in the Broncos’ efforts to avoid the wooden spoon.

On August 25, London host Leigh and that is followed by the visit of Leeds on September 1.

The owners of the Super League have controversially decided that this is likely to be London Bronco’s last in Rugby League’s top flight, no matter what the team do on the pitch. This has galvanised a special spirit within the camp and these last two home games are sure to bring a special atmosphere.

The club are encouraging as many people as possible to be at their Wimbledon home for these crucial encounters with children’s tickets available for only £1.

PICTURES: LONDON BRONCOS