It will probably be big enough.

Just looked on google maps, Skolars play at a better stadium. Was going to bring 3 or 4 people to the Stoop but not sure they will bother now. Club house looks decent though. Don't think we will get a 1000 there. Hopefully 2 points will make up for it. The match should have been postponed.

Any decent pubs in the vicinity?

Real ale at Skolars again Friday

Clubhouse is fine at Esher. Probably best feature of the ground.

Will go for the clubhouse then. Hope they will have the amount of bar staff they have at the Stoop.

So with Saracens plastic any and every weather iPitch , they couldn't put it there?

Is Gus some secret agent paid by union to kill off league in London, he's earning every penny if he is.

Neither the French travel plans, nor TR's thoughts on a postponement would have been necessary if someone had negotiated the 1 year deal with Quins properly. 4 days notice that their pitch was off limits is bollox....and there is nothing on the club site that points to this being anything other than them flexing their muscles and you know who touching his toes and thanking them



Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:


Deemed by Who? Be sure, if it was the RFL, the Health and Safety People of anyone other than Harlequins RFC who DEEMED IT UNPLAYABLE, then self preservation man would have included it in the release....

....enjoy Esher by the way. Ran out their a few times in the 80's......once you get past the veneer of s, they're an OK bunch from what I recall.

Don't quite understand why people can't accept that a pitch may be deemed unplayable. Then on top of that we have people saying stuff as though it was fact. Making stories up to back up their beliefs. When we don't know. So what do we know?

The club has moved a game because the surface has been deemed unplayable. Apparently it's because the Quins RU have told us and we've copped it up the gary cos the CEO obviously likes that. Oh and because they are protecting their pitch for a Quarter Final. Apparently.

Why don't we see if that's true by waiting to see if the game actually before the Quarter Final ie our home game v Bradford on Friday 5th, 2 days before the quins game, is moved to another venue. Then we'd know for sure it was because of the Landlords.

Out of interest, who has been massively been inconvenienced? And how? The time, the travel, the venue?

Remember the people who complained so vocally when a game in France was moved thanks to extraneous circumstances (Sky TV) and all those people that booked transport and accomodation. Think about the odd few french people that'll make the journey. When all that's really happened is that we are playing the game, on the same day, at a venue a couple of miles away, a bit later.

We don't know the facts but everyone still makes shıt up cos they have issues with the club and the CEO.

From the look of the stands there will be an excellent panoramic view of the field .... from a ladder perched on the stand roof ... I look forward to the video highlights when they are posted.

Leeds, which many experienced judges of rugby league definitely believe is more likely to make the Challenge Cup final than London, now has two games now postponed. So why couldn't London have had one game postponed?

The Easter traffic jam of matches could have been alleviated by a postponement, leaving London players fresher for their other upcoming games.

Another factor is that Michael Robertson is now injured, but will possibly be available on a postponemnt day.

Overall Gus McKay made a bold decision, one that defies all logic and the interests of the club, the players and the fans.

yeah...it has nothing to do with a HK game the following week.....

Is the HK fixture (don't know RU terms) the Quins game on Sunday 7th April?

If so, we are scheduled to play at the Stoop on Friday 5th April.

If our game on the 5th is moved, then people may be right about protecting the ground for an important game. In the meantime, all the "facts" are circumstantial and we are not moving to protect the pitch for a game in a couple of weeks time.

let's see......
[urlhttp://www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/27349/broncos-forced-into-venue-change[/url

sounds like someone forced them into the change and it wasn't the RFL.....



......show me where the RFL inspected the ground and said it was unplayable....until then, you,I amd everyone else knows this was QRFC decision.....



dead man walking

Given that Gus's #1 priority is to find us a new ground, at least he will be able to say he did it for this game.

Good point by rooster booster re the game 2 days before the 1/4 final. If tony and the team were happy not to postpone then let's just get on with it.

With regard too boozers in the area not a lot I am afraid. Nearest are in Hersham itself a good 20 minutes walk or esher which is not walkable. Lets hope the ale in the club house is ok

I still say it's a precedent in 6,000+ games of summer rugby that a game has been moved in such circumstances.....but look for the silverlining if you must.


will you be sporting laced up boots and corduroys?

The match hasn't been moved because the pitch is unplayable - that is not a decision that can be taken 3 days previous to the fixture and with dry weather forecast. It is also a decision that is taken by the match official. Someone has called it unplayable on the basis that they don't think the pitch - in its present state - can take 2 games close together. They might be right but that's clearly not the same as judging the pitch unplayable.

Moving the game to Esher is silly on so many levels. It will alienate some already long-suffering supporters and it makes the Broncos look even more small time than they are (if that's possible). The alternative - postponing - makes much more sense. More time to plan the fixture for June/July - at the Stoop or perhaps at the ground we're going to next season as a means of promotion - and a better chance of a crowd than on a cold Thursday night. And giving Tony Rea a say is just ridiculous: 2 points on Thursday night are trivial compared to the potential damage done to the club's image.

Just had a thought


what about the £40 curry? Can the clubhouse at Esher cope with the demand? Will it be cooked at the Stoop and will Gus have a delivery van for the night? Are there padded seats on the halfway line?

I think we have a right to know!!

The next two fixtures to have been played at the stoop are:

Thurs 28 March – LONDON BRONCOS v Catalans

Friday 5th April – LONDON BRONCOS v Bulls


FOLLOWED BY

Sun 7th April QUINS RU v Munster in that 1/4 final


They are moving the Broncos game that is 10 days before the Quins game and not the game Broncos 2 days before the quins game. Sort of blows the "they're moving us cos they don't want us to ruin the pitch" argument out of the water. Doesn't it? Unless of course they move the Bulls game as well. We'll wait and see. Until then, it's all usual bolloçks speculation. Why can't it simply be, the pitch is in poor condition? As we have been told. Irrelevant of whether the club are morons for doing so.

Want to clear up a few items here,

The Catalan Dragons did NOT put any pressure on Broncos, its the other way around, They have a big game on Monday, leeds at Home, This is is SOLELY down to Broncos and our club.

The cats are travelling to UK this morning (Weds) and return home on Friday.

Player safety will be issue, are medical facilities up to standard, Stoop doctor area is excellent Easher...??????

how about postpone game till weekend of Exiles game, no clash, nice weather,

Image rights (Broncos is shot to pieces, but the dragons get pulled down to our level)

RFL ( why do they sanction this, I now know why most the french feel the RFL is against them)

I also booked the Travelodge in Twickenham for the night, bang goes easy day out, Essex to Twickenham, Middx (drop bag) back on train to Surrey, all in the name of London, you could not make this up. and thats just one way.

Like Sham 69 once said "Tell us the truth" and they were the original Hersham boys, laced up boots and cordoroy

Give me strength,

Its a shame we couldnt all stand round Richmond College pitch and view this game.There will be plenty of room for all 600 (or should that be 1800) of us and we could have used the facilities at The Stoop.
Simples.
Only joking of course but you need a sense of humour to stick with this.

As someone who used to organise these things, let me assure you that postponing is often too difficult. Hotel availabilty, coach, flights etc. As Rooster said earlier, cast your minds back to our French game that was switched, for those who had booked, would you rather (a) Travel another few miles or (b) Try to cancel flights etc and re-book holidays etc? I know which I would choose.

As for Robertson being out and best we cancel. I wonder what fans would say if Robbo, Dorn, Gower and Dixon were all unavailable for rearranged game and we were flogged. No one likes the Easter fixture congestion, least of all the coach and players but they are happy with the decision, so let it go ahead.

Medical facilities, as SL games must have a Paramedic team on hand, I think this is the least of the problems. I'd be more concerned with the condition of the field.

As to Quins telling them to play elsewhere, non of this is new to the club. We once had to play 5 away games on the bounce for pitch renovations. This was also put in the contract with Charlton, Brentford etc. If Branson couldn't get out of it, I'm pretty sure Gus wasn't capable. Charlton tried to blame us for their pitch being cut to pieces before a Premier league game, when all the damage was done by their reserves. Goes with not owning our own ground unfortunately.

It will always be harder for these two teams to rearrange compared to the northern mob. They just have to go home and try again the next day.

I fully agree! I would just like to know when our landlord told the club that they were withdrawing the use of the ground for Thursday evening! the sooner we get away the better! the only type of ground that is going to really work is like Saracens have with the plastic pitch, will any club we go in with consider that?

A few have mentioned our experience when the Catalan fixture was changed a few years back.......slightly different circumstances I think, it was not an alternative ground, they moved the game day so many of us would have been flying home when the game took place......and Catalan/SKY/RFL gave zero consideration to the travelling fans.

As for `what would we think if x,y,z, players were all not available at the same time on a future date`....



Regarding the state of the pitch at the Stoop and Quins kicking us out......that may or may not have been the case and we will not know for sure unless they do not allow the forthcoming Bradford game. I would not be at all suprised if this fixture is also moved on. Anyway we told the landlord at the start of the season we would not be staying, so why would anyone expect preferential treatment.

As far as the players are concerned, there shouldn't be any problems. Basically the ground is a fairly typical pre-professional RU one - decent clubhouse and player facilities and not much for the very few spectators. Given the weather outlook, I'd expect the Bradford game to have to be moved as well - given that we've said we're off, why should Quins do anything for us? Incidentally, I make this the SEVENTEENTH ground that we've played home matches on

Gus has just been on the telly speaking to Sky reporter re fixture being moved. Broncos only found out 4pm Monday that they couldn't play at The Stoop and have been searching as far as Bath to find someone to host the fixture.

Cant understand why we couldn't simply move the fixture further down the line (we have a very imbalanced fixture list this year...why?...last home game Aug 17th and no home games in July!).

Still, I'm going to cut the club some slack on this as I very much doubt that they are happy with the situation.