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22 Sep 2022

Back-to-back Grand Finals in London

Back-to-back Grand Finals in London

Last weekend (September 17) saw the London Men’s League Premier season come to a close, as Brixton Bulls met Elmbridge Eagles in a gripping Grand Final – a game that set the tone for an exciting week of Rugby League in the capital, as London Chargers and Wests Warriors prepare to clash in the Southern Conference League Grand Final on Saturday (September 24).

The curtain came down on the 2022 London Men’s League season with a thrilling Grand Final, played at the home of the London Skolars and streamed live on YouTube.

In what was a fantastic advert for the game in the capital, the lead changed hands multiple times with momentum shifting throughout between two clubs who both had a huge array of junior produced talent in their ranks.

It was Elmbridge who started quicker and opened the scoring through Kieran Morgan, but Brixton responded with a try and a goal of their own when Ted Stone scored and Josh Burke converted. That seemed to disrupt the Bulls, who then fell behind 6-20 following tries from Jamie Hewson, Will Jones and Ted Davidson, with Morgan adding two conversions.

After a few reaffirming words, Brixton hit back through Jack Hancock with Adam Sheehy converting to bring the scores to 12-20 at half time after the Eagles were held up over the line in the dying seconds of the first half.

Brixton came out firing at the start of the second half, as Ugo Onyeji and Joe Little both crossed in quick succession and a Sheehy goal put Brixton back into the lead.

The ebb and flow continued as the Eagles went back-to-back to open up a 22-30 lead as Sean Belbin and Iwan Stacey both went over.

It seemed as though Elmbridge were in full control with fifteen minutes to spare, but super sub Jack Hancock had other ideas – he scored two tries in the final stanza with two Sheehy conversions completing the scoring, sending Brixton in to ecstasy whilst Elmbridge rued what may have been.

An entertaining season got the enthralling ending it deserved as Brixton Bulls ran out 34-30 winners, but both teams deserve huge credit for the spectacle they served up. 

The way in which the game was managed and allowed to flow wouldn’t have been possible without a solid refereeing performance, so match official Cameron Grey and his touch judges deserve heaps of praise for the part they played.

If you didn’t manage to catch this action-packed Grand Final, the full game is available to watch on Our League!

 

Elsewhere in the capital, the Southern Conference League reaches its conclusion this weekend with a repeat of last year’s Grand Final between London Chargers and Wests Warriors, as they clash at the home of Wasps RFC with kick off set for 2:30pm.

The Chargers will be looking to bury their Grand Final hoodoo after losing the inaugural final in 2019 and falling to defeat at the hands of this weekend’s opponents last year – they have completed a spectacular regular season, though, as they went the entire year undefeated.

Reigning champions Wests won’t be phased by the Chargers’ impeccable form, and will be banking on their big game know-how to retain their title.