Quins are dead! Long live the London Broncos!

[DIEHARD]

PRESS RELEASE

Super League will continue to be a part of the London sporting landscape after Harlequins RL were given another three-year licence.

The club were awarded a Grade C licence to continue in Rugby League's elite competition by the Rugby Football League.
Chief Executive, Gus MacKay, welcomed the decision but emphasised that the challenge now is to turn the club into a vibrant, successful operation both on and off the field.

"We are delighted to have been given another three-year Super League licence," he said. "I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our staff and all the people involved in putting together our successful application.

"The hard work starts now, but we are determined to usher in a new era for professional rugby league in London. Plans are in place to boost the playing squad as well as improving the organisation overall.

"We are currently working on the development of a new brand. Next year, the team will be playing under a new name and in new colours. There are exciting times ahead for the club."

Source: Quins RL

[SunnyCoastTitanFan]

Well the atmosphere around the club can't be good at the moment, poor crowds, poor on field performances and they are struggling to retain some of the home grown talent. Whether it's the Quins branding that's killing the club or not, yet if they cut ties with them, would they be financially stable to stand on their own. Well I hope they are able to change the poor atmosphere around the club, and actually start making a significant profit, but imo I don't see it happening.

[DIEHARD]

Well IMO the RFL should be working with them, it isn't fair to charge a club with promoting the game in the nation's capital.

Also I dont think Quins RU and RL were financially linked heavily. I think Quins RL was indepedent.

But the issues there are more than branding, they run deep. But it is an area we need to make a fight for.

[SunnyCoastTitanFan]

I've dug up this article from 2005 which explains why the London Broncos have formed their partnership with Harlequins

Broncos link up with Harlequins

Last updated at 12:45 26 July 2005

London Broncos have confirmed they have entered into a cross-code partnership with rugby union club Harlequins.

The Broncos will become known as Harlequins Rugby League Club and will move into The Stoop from the start of the 2006 engage Super League season.

The Broncos, who will also adopt Harlequins' famous pastel colours, are keen to stress the two clubs have not merged at corporate level and remain separate entities.

But they will present a united front in terms of name, colours and year-round rugby at the newly-christened Twickenham Stoop.

The rugby league outfit will also train at Harlequins' Roehampton facility and will be marketed under the Harlequins brand.

The partnership brings the only two professional rugby clubs in London together under the same umbrella and makes commercial and economic sense for both parties.

"The London Broncos become Harlequins Rugby League from the start of the 2006 season with a full adoption of the Harlequins brand - the Harlequins shirt, the Harlequins logo, everything about the Harlequins brand is now the brand used on Harlequins Rugby League," said Broncos chairman Ian Lenagan.

"While this is not a merger or takeover in either direction it does represent the most exciting coming together of rugby union and rugby league ever.

"It represents coming together under the most famous rugby brand in the world and with the most capable boards of directors on the rugby union side and the rugby league.

"We feel sure it is a very, very strong future for rugby league in the capital.

"We are not returning to the Stoop as rent-paying tenants. It is as a long-term partnership with Harlequins - a partnership in two ways.

"First of all sharing resources - marketing, commercial and administrative, training grounds for both teams, development of players and obviously in the academy area.

"Secondly, the move here represents a sensible, attractive yet realistic share of revenue for the Broncos, things we have not necessarily had before had previous locations.

"Things like bar and food revenue on match days, merchandise and corporate hospitality which the new Twickenham Stoop is superb for."

The partnership brings the only two professional rugby clubs in London together under the same umbrella and makes commercial and economic sense for both parties.

The Broncos were forced into liquidation with ?3million of debt earlier this year and were controversially allowed to continue after reforming as a new company.

Their future was only safeguarded when Lenagan, head of the Sports Cafe chain, took over as chairman and became joint owner with David Hughes. With the new cash injection and this new partnership - which offers huge financial assistance given the Broncos are paying no rent for the ground - Lenagan expects to break even by the end of next season.

"This is the most significant event in the history of the London Broncos," said Lenagan. The deal enhances Harlequins' positive approach to life following their relegation last season.

Chief executive Mark Evans has not only worked hard to retain the majority of his Premiership squad but he has recruited Dean Richards as director of rugby and New Zealand international fly-half Andrew Mehrtens to spearhead their promotion push.

Harlequins and the London Broncos currently have an agreement for loaning Academy players and have co-existed before but never formed an official partnership.

The rugby union club will start out as the dominant partner but Evans rejected suggestions he had struck the deal to bolster Harlequins' finances following relegation.

"I have been thinking about this for six years," said Evans. "It is a world first. There is nothing I can think of that is the same as this.

"I don't think you will see it replicated anywhere else in this country. We are not in this for the short run."

The Broncos, who lie sixth in the engage Super League and are chasing a place in the play-offs, last played at the Stoop six years ago when they reached the Challenge Cup final.

But they have led a nomadic existence since they were formed as Fulham RLFC in 1980 and their return to the Stoop from Griffin Park, their current residence and home of Brentford Football Club, will be their ninth move in 25 years.

The club were reinvented as the London Crusaders and then the London Broncos after being bought by Australian club the Brisbane Broncos.

That venture did not last and in 1998 entrepreneur Richard Branson stepped in to take over the club. He attempted to swell the club's supporter base but eventually pulled out in 2001, leaving the Broncos in a state of uncertainty.

They seemed to have found their feet under Hughes' ownership - until this year when it was revealed they were saddled with debts of ?3million.

The Inland Revenue could not reach agreement with creditors and forced them into liquidation, but four months ago the Broncos reformed as a new company and continued in the engage Super League.

Lenagan, a successful theatre producer, replaced Hughes as chairman with the promise to inject much-needed finance into the club.

"It is the opportunity to finally secure rugby league's future in the capital," said Evans.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rug...arlequins.html

[DIEHARD]

Thanks for that trip down memory lane.

I see the move to Quins as a supreme cop out and a hobbling of RL and the club's potential.

But a new era dawns and I'm on board. I even have an old school London Broncos jersey from something like 96 or 97.

Name or not, the Broncos had excellence colours.

[DIEHARD]

London Broncos return

Harlequins RL are to revert to the name London Broncos next season, BBC London 94.9 understands.

After six years under the Quins banner, club chairman David Hughes is expected to confirm the announcement next month.

After seven seasons at The Stoop, the club are also actively working with the Rugby Football League to find a new playing venue of their own.

That was never an option for Quins' current licence period, but something the club hope to do in the future.

"Ever since the chairman told me a name change was possible, Broncos was always the most likely," said BBC London 94.9 rugby league reporter Ian Ramsdale.

"It was 99% confirmed by the end of the season and I understand the remaining issues have been resolved.

"The idea of a name change has been around for over a year.

"With a desire to have their own identity, in order to build the rugby league profile in the south, a move away from the links with such a distinguished rugby union name and kit was seen as a key step.

"A number of other options were considered after the club consulted the fans with a survey.

"But, with David Hughes' memories of the old Broncos team, only a sponsored name was a real alternative and no suitable deal was found."

Having played in a Challenge Cup Final at Wembley against Leeds in 1999 as the London Broncos, many fans will be happy to see the name return.
BBC London also understands that a new logo and playing kit are to be unveiled as part of yet another change of brand.

When the old London Broncos went into business with Harlequins RFC in 2005, a name change to Harlequins RL was part of the initial three-year deal.

Since that expired, at the end of the 2008 season, the rugby league club have been effectively renting the ground purely as tenants.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

[Boofhead]

Looking forward to seeing the new kit!

[DIEHARD]

I hope they revert to one of their good kits. Maybe during the Virgin period.

I cant believe they ever allowed themselves to be an off shoot of a union team. I know they probably did it for financial survival but that is quite a few wasted years.

[DIEHARD]

London Broncos are back!

[DIEHARD]

Jerseys

[DIEHARD]

Wembley rocks as NRL stars head to re-born Broncos

International rugby league?s long-awaited return to Wembley marked both the end of a big week for the sport in the capital, and the beginning of a new era for London?s Super League side, which welcomes an influx of NRL talent this pre-season as it returns to its former Broncos identity.

After a 14-year absence it was a bold decision to take Saturday?s Four Nations double-header to Britain?s most iconic stadium ? the culmination of a high-profile week which saw the international player awards held at the Tower of London, and league?s brightest stars paraded against a backdrop of famous monuments.

The Wembley crowd of 42,344 fell short of many people?s hopes of a 50,000-plus attendance, but RFL Chief Executive Nigel Wood was delighted with the turn-out.

?The atmosphere was terrific and over 42,000 people were treated to two matches of the highest calibre,? he said on Wednesday.

?Our decision to take the Gillette Four Nations double header to Wembley was fully vindicated and the feedback we have had since Saturday has been uniformly positive, from the players, the supporters, our broadcast partners, the media and the stadium itself.?

Despite the upper tier being closed, the crowd created an electric atmosphere in the famous stadium, particularly as England ran the Kangaroos close for much of the second game.

British rugby league has faced criticism in recent years for its readiness to stage internationals in small stadiums, but the success of the return to Wembley should encourage the RFL to think big when allocating venues for the 2013 World Cup.

London is an undisputed outpost of English rugby league but, encouragingly, 40 per cent of Wembley ticket orders came from London postcodes, suggesting the capital?s residents could be keen to re-discover the 13-a-side code.

It all bodes well for the city?s Super League team, who capitalised on the Wembley hype last week to announce their rebranding and return to their former name, London Broncos. It?s the identity associated with the club?s most successful period, when they finished runners-up in the 1997 Super League, beat the Mal Meninga-coached Canberra Raiders in that year?s World Club Championship, and reached their first Challenge Cup Final in 1999.

The decision to return to the Broncos name has been welcomed by most supporters - after six years as the identity crisis that was Harlequins Rugby League - even though the club no longer has links with its Brisbane cousins.

Once an overseas outlet for Brisbane?s excess talent, London Broncos hosted the likes of Ben Walker, Terry Matterson and Russell Bawden, while Brisbane cast-offs such as Steele Retchless cemented a cult following of their own in the English capital.

Keen to end its heavy reliance on Australian imports, in recent years the London club has made huge strides in developing local talent in a city where rugby league is not just un-cool but unknown amongst many budding sportsmen.

There are now 29 London-raised players representing London Broncos in Super League and London Skolars in Championship One, with nine Londoners in the Broncos? first-team squad and another nine on the fringes.

With strong local player pathways in place, the club has returned to the NRL transfer market for 2012, bringing in Manly grand final winners Shane Rodney and Michael Robertson (joining a Sea Eagles Diaspora of Chad Randall, Luke Dorn, Mark Bryant and Michael Witt), plus former Kangaroos stars Craig Gower and Antonio Kaufusi.

It?s a deliberate attempt to fast-track the progress of London-born players, explains Broncos coach Rob Powell, whose Australian recruits begin arriving next week.

?We?ve made a conscious decision to look to the NRL to add more experience to our squad. Our belief is that working alongside experienced players will speed up the development of our London kids.

?Robertson and Rodney are coming straight out of a grand final win with Manly and we believe that kind of quality will be infectious. They?re used to being in a winning team and in an environment that creates one, and that will bring a lot to our club.?

The signing of 33-year-old Gower, who has spent the last four years playing rugby in France, raised eyebrows in both hemispheres, but Powell is convinced the former Penrith halfback is committed to the challenge of transforming the London Broncos into serious contenders.

?We?ve done a lot of homework on his character as well as his playing abilities, and everyone I?ve spoken to has said he?s one of the most competitive players they?ve ever come across. He?s hungry to win and he?s a fantastic trainer ? that?s one of the reasons he played for the Kangaroos at such a young age. He will play a strong leadership role and raise the bar in training and in our attitude towards games, because he won?t accept anything less than a very high standard.?

Off the field, the club are also targeting Aussies and Kiwis again, with specific marketing aimed at London-based expats planned for 2012. It?s a previous tactic that was shelved in recent years, along with the reliance on big money signings from down under.

With the return to the Broncos name, the London club has abandoned its recent trepidation towards its historical Australian associations. And if the new combination of NRL experience and London pride can achieve a return to the glory days of the late '90s, there won?t be too many complaints in the capital.

Source: http://www.NRL.com