Rugby League

Super League

Sunday 5th July 2026

Kick Off 15.00

Leeds Rhinos 50 Bradford Bulls 16, attendance 42,903

@ Hill Dickinson Stadium (Everton F.C.)

32 Regent Road

Bramley Moore Dock

Liverpool

L5 9SR

£28 Admission (day ticket covering 3 matches) plus £1 Booking Fee.

£5 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

So, a trip to the loo and then grabbed something to eat (massively overpriced and very small portions) before taking in game number two of the day and another Yorkshire derby, where top of the table Leeds Rhinos were taking on twelfth placed Bradford Bulls. As with the earlier game it was disappointing from a neutral point of view as Leeds won comfortably, scoring nine tries in the process, extending their lead at the top of the table to four points over Wigan, Warrington (have a game in hand) and Wakefield, whilst Bradford never looked like ever winning it.

Brodie Croft opened the scoring after nine minutes before Chris Hankinson scored their second try, both converted for a 12-0 lead. Jarrod O’Connor added their third try, again converted by Jake Connor for an 18-0 lead, before Bradford got a try through Caleb Aekins to make it 18-4, but the conversion was missed. Leeds soon regained the upper hand though and further tries from James McDonnell and Ash Handley gave them a 30-4 lead at halftime. Leeds extended their lead through another Handley try, but the attempted conversion hit the post. Ethan Ryan then scored for Bradford, with Luke Hooley converting for 34-10. A comeback looked on when Ryan scored his second try for Bulls as they pulled it back to 34-16 once converted, but that was the last points they managed to score. A try by Jake Connor, which he then converted stretched Rhinos lead to 40-16. The biggest surprise of the day was that it took until nine minutes from the end for Maika Sivo to finally score his now obligatory try, making it 44-16 and setting a new club record for Leeds in Super League games, having now scored a try in his last 10 consecutive matches. With the last play of the game Ash Handley completed his hattrick, with Jake Connor rounding off the scoring with a conversion.

The Wigan Warriors versus St. Helens clash was following this game and due to start at 17.30. As I’ve seen this fixture a number of times over the years, I decided to give it a miss and head for home. The Magic Weekend was certainly a success here at Everton and will return in 2027. The combined attendance for the weekend was 77,442 (plus 5,483 at the Catalans Dragons-Toulouse game in France) with this afternoon’s matches setting a new high for a single-day attendance, although that was certainly helped by the three big guns of Leeds, St. Helens and Wigan being scheduled together. An excellent day out and even with walking back to the car, followed by SatNav avoiding the M40 from J8A to J4, I was still home just after 10pm.

Super League

Sunday 5th July 2026

Kick Off 12.30

Wakefield Trinity 48 Castleford Tigers 6, attendance 42,903

@ Hill Dickinson Stadium (Everton F.C.)

32 Regent Road

Bramley Moore Dock

Liverpool

L5 9SR

£28 Admission (day ticket covering 3 matches) plus £1 Booking Fee.

£5 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

An overnight stop in Warrington, following yesterday’s match in Lancaster, meant an easy twenty mile drive to Liverpool, which took around forty minutes, for Day 2 of Rugby League’s Magic Weekend. I parked in an NCP car park in Pall Mall (£12.50 weekend charge) and walked the 1 mile to the stadium, directly north along Regent Road. Hill Dickinson Stadium only opened last year and I’d already visited for an Everton home match in March, but this was a chance to tick off the ground for a different sport. Unsurprisingly, it hasn’t changed since then…..it’s a 52,769 all seater, set out in two tiers. My ticket was in the upper tier, with no designated seat, so you could pick to watch from anywhere, which gives you a chance to check out the various different views and of course avoid some of the less desirable of the crowd, especially those who can’t handle their drink….and there were plenty of those, especially as the afternoon wore on.

First game up was a Yorkshire derby between 5th in the league table Wakefield Trinity and 9th placed Castleford Tigers. Sadly, from a neutral point of view, it was too one sided and Wakefield won at a canter. After opening the scoring after just three minutes with a try from Scott, Wakefield also had two more tries ruled out before Johnstone scored right in the corner after sixteen minutes and four minutes later Scott got his second try to extend their lead to 20-0 before halftime. A try right in the corner from Walmsley made it 24-0 two minutes into the second half, quickly followed by a Smoothly try under the posts four minutes later and it was game over. Two tries from Hamlin-Uele and then a further one from Rourke saw Wakefield cruise to a 48-0 lead, where Sinfield converted six out of nine attempts. At least Castleford avoided getting nilled though, when Qareqare scored right in the corner in the last minute, with the conversion kicked by Weaver, to give a final score of 48-6.

Rugby League

National Conference League

Division 2 Southern

Saturday 27th June 2026

Kick Off 15.00

London Chargers 16 Wests Warriors 18, attendance 41

@ King’s House School Sports Ground, 3G Pitch 2

Riverside Drive

Chiswick

London

W4 2SP

No Admission or Programme.

I’d seen football played here at King’s School Sports Ground, on both a grass pitch and 3G Pitch 1, but this was my first visit for rugby league, where the game was played on the newish 3G Pitch 2. It is to the right when looking from the clubhouse, running the opposite way to the other 3G, running parallel to Riverside Drive. It’s a standard cage set up, with a spectator area running the full length of one side.

The match was 4th versus 3rd in the league table and was an excellent game that was in the balance right up to the final whistle. London took an early lead, scoring a try in the corner, but were unable to convert the extra points. Twenty five minutes in a try under the posts, easily converted, saw Wests edge 4-6 in front and another converted try, six minutes later, saw them stretch the lead to 4-12. Just before halftime Wests had a man sin binned and were made to pay, when a breakaway try, including a clever kick over the top, which was flicked on first time before running straight for the posts to pull it back to 8-12 at the break. Two minutes into the second half London drew level, following a quick break down the right. It only took Wests four minutes to regain the lead though, breaking through a tackle and forcing the ball over the line and it was converted to make it 12-18. With twenty seven minutes left a charging run down the centre, which was switched wide left, beating the last man, before scoring in the corner saw London pull it back to 16-18, but crucially the kick was missed, striking the upright and it turned out to be the last points of the match.

A good win for Wests. They remain third in the table, as the top two also won today. Bedford Tigers lead the way with 16 points (played 9), followed by Hammersmith Hills Hoists on 12 points (played 7) and Wests on 10 points (played 6). After today, I’ve just got bottom of the table North Herts Crusaders as the only unvisited ground left to do in this division now..

Rugby League

National Conference League

Division 2 North West

Saturday 13th June 2026

Kick Off 14.30

Ashton Bears 20 Crosfields 24, attendance 115

@ Bear Park

Low Bank Road

Ashton-in-Makerfield

WN4 9RP

£2 Admission

No Programme.

Today’s game saw a trip up to Ashton-in-Makerfield, just south of Wigan. Ashton Bears ground is in Low Bank Road, to the west of the town and the last thing on the right hand side before you cross the M6 motorway as you head towards Garswood. Parking is behind the near goal end, with the pitch running lengthways away from here. Spectators are restricted to this end and along the right hand touchline. A pair of dugouts are on the side that backs onto the motorway and there are floodlights here, but only for training use. The clubhouse/changing room building is at the far end of the car park, where there was also a tea bar that did hot and cold food and drinks..

The match was bottom of the table (9th) versus fifth, where a win for the hosts would have seen them climb above the visitors in the table. It was Crosfields who took a sixteenth minute lead though, scoring right in the corner before adding the conversion to lead 0-6. Ashton drew level five minutes later, scoring close to the posts and adding the kick too. Ten minutes before halftime, another try in the corner saw Crosfields lead again and this was converted to make it 6-12. Just before the break Ashton pulled it back to 10-12, breaking from left to right and despite two attempted failed tackles, it was forced over the line and set up the second half perfectly. A try under the posts saw Crosfields extend their lead three minutes into the second half, which was kicked as well, making it 10-18. Ashton got it back to 16-18 just after the hour mark, before another converted Crosfields try made it 16-24 as we headed into the final ten minutes. With a minute left Ashton broke from deep in their own half and switched the ball out wide to get another try in the corner, giving a final score of 20-24.

Amazingly, a trip where holdups were no more than a couple of minutes each way, at the M5/M6 intersection going and on the M25 around J10 coming back.

Rugby League

National Conference League

Division 2 Southern

Saturday 6th June 2026

Kick Off 14.30

Brentwood Eels 6 Hammersmith Hills Hoists 20, attendance 47

@ Old Brentwoods R.U.F.C.

Old Brentwoods Sports Club

Ashwells Road

Pilgrims Hatch

Brentwood

CM15 9SE

No Admission or Programme.

I’d seen football played at Old Brentwoods Sports Club, back in 2019, where the game was played on the pitch that runs widthways in front of the clubhouse building. There’s then a cricket square, followed by another football pitch and beyond that, down a gentle slope, is the rugby pitch of Old Brentwoods R.U.F.C. running lengthways away from the building. It’s fenced along each touchline and has hard standing on the right hand side, which is where a seated kit stand sits at the halfway line. The clubhouse was open throughout and a refreshment/cake stall was set up pitch side.

The match was 5th versus 1st in the league table and was a much closer contest than I’d been expecting, as HHH are one of the big guns in this league. It took twenty four minutes for the visitors to break the deadlock, scoring under the posts and easily converting the extra points to lead 0-6. Four minutes before halftime they added a second try, right in the corner, but failed to convert, so went into halftime leading 0-10. Thirteen minutes into the second half they scored again under the posts and converted the kick to lead 0-16. With sixteen minutes left they worked the ball from left to right, getting a try right in the corner, which unsurprisingly wasn’t converted. With sixteen minutes left Brentwoods forced their way over the line, despite three defenders trying to make a tackle and added the kick to give a final score of 6-20.

It was a miserable afternoon weather wise, with rain and drizzle throughout the entire match. There was the usual two mile queue approaching Dartford Crossing on the outbound journey, but it was totally clear on the return.

Rugby League

1895 Cup Quarter Final

Sunday 17th May 2026

Kick Off 15.00

Widnes Vikings 30 Newcastle Thunder 20, attendance 596

@ Robin Park Arena

Loire Drive

Wigan

WN5 0UZ

£10 Admission

No Programme, but free team sheet available.

With the DCBL Stadium (it was plain old Naughton Park when I saw Widnes beat Batley 56-6 in a Regal Trophy match there in December 1990) unavailable, this match was moved to Robin Park Arena, an athletics venue adjacent to the Wigan Athletic/Wigan Warriors stadium (it was J.J.B. Stadium when I visited for both sports), where I’d already seen football played, having visited for a Wigan Athletic Reserves match here back in September 1999. It’s not ideal for watching any sport other than athletics, due to the 10 lane running track, as well as jumping pits, that means the view of the pitch is very distant. Spectator access is limited to this side of the pitch, where there’s a seated stand, offset, due to it catering for the finishing line of the track and flat standing along the remainder. Mobile catering was available, as was car parking, but rather than pay the £6.20 charge, I used street parking, just under ten minutes from the ground. There was a crowd limit of 1,000 enforced, with the match being all-ticket, with none available on the day, but easy to purchase on-line. In the end, there were fewer than 600 in attendance, which is well down on the crowd Widnes normally attract for home games.

The game certainly fitted the ‘game of two halves’ category, with 4th hosting 2nd as far as league positions go. Newcastle Thunder were the whipping boys last season, but are much improved this time round, whilst Widnes Vikings are a far cry from their glory days as Premiership and Challenge Cup winners of the 1980’s as well as their World Club Challenge win in 1989, when they beat Canberra Raiders 30-18 at Old Trafford.

Newcastle took an early lead when Myles Harrison scored the opening try after four minutes and they doubled their lead eight minutes later, with an almost full pitch length try, which was then converted for a 0-12 lead. Just before halftime another converted try saw them extend their halftime lead to 0-18 and they were well in command. Two minutes into the second half Widnes hit back with a try from Jack Billington and added the conversion to make it 6-18. Thirteen minutes into the half Newcastle opted to kick a penalty, rather than go for a try and despite extending their lead to 6-20, it was the turning point in the match, as they failed to add any further points hereafter. Max Roberts forced himself over the line to start an amazing Widnes comeback midway through the half, quickly followed by a Danny Langtree try under the posts. Sam Wilde went over in the corner to put Widnes ahead with seven minutes left, which was also converted to stretch the lead to 24-20, before a late Jack Owens try, which was also converted, saw the game finish 30-22 and a final score line that no one would have predicted at halftime.

Widnes Vikings join London Broncos, Midlands Hurricanes and Rochdale Hornets in tomorrow’s semi-final draw, where the Broncos is the tie the others will be hoping to avoid.

Apart from a SatNav diversion taking me off the M6 between J18 and J17, it was a traffic free drive back south and home dead on nine o’clock.

Rugby League

National Conference League

Division 2 Southern

Sunday 19th April 2026

Kick Off 14.30

Bristol All Golds 34 Bedford Tigers 52, attendance 73

@ Lockleaze Sports Centre, 3G Rugby Pitch

Bonnington Walk

Lockleaze

Bristol

BS7 9XF

No Admission or Programme.

I’d seen football here at Lockleaze Sports Centre for a West of England University match in January 2018. There are two 3G pitches here, separated by a dual aspect clubhouse, complete with viewing area. Unlike the football, where there’s no access inside the cage, the rugby pitch has a spectator area along the whole of one side, but the raised balcony area gave a much better view and there was hot food and drinks available from inside the clubhouse for the entirety.

All Golds had lost their opening game 50-12 at Wests Warriors, whilst this was the opening game for Tigers, following the postponement of their opener versus North Herts Crusaders. All Golds opened the scoring after eleven minutes, but failed to convert. Twenty two unanswered points for the visitors saw them lead 4-22 after twenty six minutes. Momentum swung back to All Golds as they hit back with eighteen points of their own, to pull it back to 22-22 by halftime. An interception on their own 20 yard line saw them take the lead four minutes into the second half, which was converted for a 28-22 lead. Unfortunately, they had a man sin binned shortly afterwards, during which time Tigers scored two converted tries to go back in front at 28-34. The visitors then had a man sin binned, which gave All Golds time to level it up at 34-34. It was to be the last points All Golds scored and a try the full length of the pitch saw Tigers get the next score, a couple of minutes after All Golds were back at full strength, which was then converted. Two more converted tries in the last three minutes rounded off the scoring for the visitors.

The drive west to Bristol was trouble free. The return just saw the usual couple of miles queuing at the M3/M25 interchange.

Rugby League

Challenge Cup 2nd Round

Sunday 25th January 2026

Kick Off 14.00

London Broncos 86 Wests Warriors 0, attendance 600

@ Richmond R.U.F.C.

Richmond Athletic Ground

Twickenham Road (A316)

Richmond upon Thames

TW9 2SF

£8 Admission

No Programme (free team sheet available).

The attraction of this game was that it was being played at the home ground of Richmond R.U.F.C. rather than Broncos normal home ground of Wimbledon F.C. It is easily reached by car, being on the left hand side of the A316 when heading in towards London from the M3. Parking is available on site, but only payable by App (there appeared to be three different ones!), so I parked in the next road on the left instead, about 50 yards away, where there were no restrictions on a Sunday. There’s an impressive old stand here, with 9 rows of bench seating and an old pavilion adjacent, whilst the pitch is fully railed with spectator access on all four sides. When looking from the stand, there appeared to be a crowd well into four figures, but when viewing from the other side (and studying the photos) it became apparent the crowd just about reached 600….perhaps that’s why no official figure has been released, as it’s well down on the near 2,500 crowd Broncos got for their opening league match against Widnes Vikings.

As expected, it was an absolute thrashing, which is all too common in this competition when professional sides play the amateurs. The only attraction for me was that it was played at unusual venue and it was only about 45 minutes drive from home. Even better, I appeared to have been charged the concession rate (£2 cheaper), which I only realised once inside the ground. As a contest, it was all over once Broncos scored their second try of the day. By halftime it was 28-0, but far more one sided than the score suggests. The second half was embarrassing, with Broncos scoring at will and despite this now being their record ever win, they’ll probably be disappointed not to have reached three figures. Alex Max bagged himself four tries and Liam Tindall got a hattrick, whilst Gairo Voro and Morea Morea got two each. Broncos should face a stiffer test in the next round when they host Bradford Bulls.

Today saw a number of other ridiculous scores, where the amateurs never managed a single point. The 86 points here was beaten by both Midlands Hurricanes and North Wales Crusaders, both amassing a whopping 110 points and Halifax who managed 88 and two other amateurs lost their matches by 76-0 and 58-0.

Rugby League

Challenge Cup 1st Round

Sunday 11th January 2026

14.30 Kick Off

Bedford Tigers 36 Medway Dragons 6, attendance 292

@ Bedford Athletic R.U.F.C.

Wentworth Drive

Putnoe

Bedford

MK41 8QA

£3 Admission

£1 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

When I last visited Bedford Tigers (0-42 versus West London Sharks in a Conference Southern Premier match in June 2009) they were playing on an outside pitch at Bedford International Athletics Stadium. These days they’re based at the ground of Bedford Athletic R.U.F.C. where they have use of the main pitch, which is a floodlit 3G. It runs widthways in front of the clubhouse and is fully railed and has a pair of dugouts on the far side.

Bedford Tigers still play in the Southern Conference League and were making their third appearance in the Challenge Cup, with this being the first time they’d had a home draw. Medway Dragons, who are based in Brompton, Kent, midway between Chatham and Gillingham, play in the London & South East League, which is one level below Bedford.

The hosts opened the scoring with a try in the corner after eight minutes, but were unable to convert the kick. Three minutes later a diagonal run in from the right saw a try for Medway under the posts, which they converted to lead 4-6 and it was very much game on. Unfortunately, it was to be the only points the visitors would score and Bedford edged back in front and despite having a man sin binned late on in the half, went in leading 14-6 at the break. They were still a man light when they added their fourth try of the game, breaking through the centre for a try easily converted under the posts and there was no way back for the visitors with Bedford soon back at full strength. They added three more tries, all converted, going over in the corner with six minutes left to round off a 36-6 win. They now visit tier two side North Wales Crusaders in Round 2.

Speedway

British Speedway League Championship

Friday 25th July 2025

Tapes Up 19.30

Glasgow Tigers 47 Berwick Bandits 43, attendance 600

@ Ashfield Stadium

404 Hawthorn Street

Possil Park

Glasgow

G22 6RU

£20 Admission

£3.50 Programme, 36 Pages.

This was only spotted during the day and as it was only 20 minutes from our overnight hotel, then it would have been rude not to go. It was my first speedway meeting since visiting Newcastle Diamonds in 2017 and only my second in more than 30 years. These days Glasgow Tigers ride at Ashfield Stadium, where I’d previously visited for football, having seen Ashfield beat Newmains United 4-2 there, back in August 2006.

General admission was £20, or an extra £2 if you wanted a seat. Rather than risk street parking, we paid £5 to park in the secure parking at the stadium, with allowed a surprisingly swift getaway afterwards. The match day programme, which doubles as a scorecard, was £3.50 and looks like there’s plenty of reading, but I’ll probably never look at it again. There was a good variety of food and drink available, which wasn’t the greatest quality, but was cheap enough.

Chris Harris and Villads Nagel got Tigers off to a perfect start, giving them a 5-1 lead after the first heat, with the fastest heat of the night, dead on 58 seconds. The same two took first and second again in heat 6, this time Nagels winning, which opened up a 21-15 lead and they completed a 1-2 hattrick again in heat 10, which saw Tigers increase their lead to 37-23 and Bandits looked to be too far back to recover from this, although they did take four of the next five heats to only lose by a respectable 47-43 in the end.

Chris Harris top scored for Tigers with 11 points (+2 bonus) with Villads Nagel backing him up with 10 points (+1 bonus), whilst both were outdone by the top two riders for Berwick, with Jonas Jeppesen getting 13 points (+2 bonus) and Drew Kemp 12 points.