Electric Broncos draw union spies

When coach Tony Rea boldly proclaimed that the London Broncos would play the best rugby of either code in the capital this season it was dismissed as a cheap publicity stunt, but his team are living up to his fine words.

Spurred on by the devastating halfback play of Mark McLinden, Luke Dorn and Thomas Leuluai, London are third in the Super League table, the country's top points scorers and, in full-back Paul Sykes, boast the competition's most prolific player. After a 25-year struggle to establish themselves away from the game's northern heartlands, are the Broncos finally starting to buck the trend?

Influential figures in London rugby are taking notice. The Broncos have welcomed coaches from London Wasps, Harlequins and Saracens to their matches at Griffin Park this season as the two codes grow closer, with the union spies hoping to pick up some tips from an adventurous attacking game that has taken Super League by storm.

London have scored 41 tries in six matches this season and Wasps head coach Shaun Edwards is impressed with their commitment to attack.

The former rugby league great, who played for the club in the late 1990s after a glittering career at Wigan, said: "London are playing some fantastic stuff at the moment and it's breathtaking to see some of the ball skills on display. I've been there three times as a punter this season and the skill level on show is fantastic.

"It seems as if the half-backs have a telepathic understanding, but they've also got some big lads who off-load in the tackle very well.

"They're different games, league and union, but the product of the London team is fantastic. It's not often you see attacking rugby of that quality."

London recorded a club-record 72-8 victory over Wakefield at the end of February, following it up with a 66-8 rout of Widnes last week, but their most important win of the season came off the pitch. With debts of £3million the club were facing a winding-up order from the Inland Revenue at the start of the month but were allowed to go into voluntary liquidation and form a new, debt-free company.

There is considerable resentment in the north at the resources that have been pumped into London over the years but their rivals came to their aid when it was most needed, voting to accept the rescue plan at an emergency meeting in Huddersfield.

"One of the big things to come out of it was to realise that so many people really wanted us," Rea said.

"The London project is too important for the game of rugby league, and too important for this city, to let us just die. Sometimes you only begin to appreciate something when you're close to losing it and that's what we've found this season. There's a great spirit within the whole rugby community in London and we're part of that. Maybe it's a north v south thing.

"We're grateful to our rivals for

allowing us to continue and if we get this right we can be the biggest club in the game."

Having given 10 years' service to the Broncos as a hooker, chief executive and now coach, Rea is determined to take advantage of their last-minute reprieve, starting with the home game against Hull tomorrow.

"Sometimes you look at a group of players and feel that something out of the ordinary is happening," he said.

"I really enjoy working with this group because every day they get the best out of themselves. In terms of talent it's the best group I've ever worked with and, even more importantly, they want to push themselves.

"Hopefully, we'll get our rewards at the end of the season."

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