RB in a League of her own!

It was with some trepidation that I agreed to appear live on the BBC Radio London’s Sports Show the Friday before last!

The Club had asked someone from Quinssa to appear to talk about the Broncos/Quins partnership and somehow I found myself agreeing. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time, but as 8.30pm (the time the show were due to call me back) drew nearer I had several butterflies scrummaging in my stomach!

When I was patched through to the show, the Broncos' Coach – Tony Rea – was talking. He came across very well indeed – very passionate about his club, very passionate about Rugby as a whole (both codes) and very positive about the announcement.

He said that people didn’t have to only like one code and that although he had never played a game of RU he had become interested in it when he came to England and was looking forward to learning and seeing more about/of it.

After Tony Rea had finished it was the turn of the ‘fans’ – myself as a Quins fan (and I would stress Quinssa was not mentioned at all, so I was purely speaking for myself) and John Keys as a Broncos' fan.

John explained that some of Broncos’ fans were unhappy about losing their name and colours but that he, and a lot of others, were looking forward to the partnership and saw it as a good thing for both teams.

I said that I felt Quins’ opinions were very polarised, but that personally I thought it was a good thing and that, as Tony Rea said, you don’t only have to only like one so hopefully both teams will benefit from some additional fans.

It was suggested that there was a lot of confusion amongst the fans – I said I thought this was the case early on but that the FAQs issued by both Teams, and Mark Evans’ statement had cleared up most of the ‘burning questions’ apart from the financial details of the deal which, in my opinion, should stay secret.

Then it was time for a Quiz!

“Just for a bit of fun” they said. 

“Just to see how much you know about each other’s teams” they said.

Oh Dear, I thought! My stomach sank as I thought about making a complete posterior of myself on live radio by displaying my lack of League and/or Broncos knowledge!!

John went first and was asked In what year were Harlequins formed?
He answered 1886 and was given half a point (not bad for being 20 years out I thought!)

His second question was, What were Harlequins originally called?
Having said he didn’t know, he was then prompted with “it’s a heath in London” to which he replied “Hampstead Heath” and was given another half point.

At this point, I was praying they would be as helpful and lenient with my questions & answers!!!

John’s final question was How many grounds did Quins play in during their first 40 years?
John answered 6 and was not given anything for it – a little unfair I thought as he had got half a point for being 20 out in question one, but nothing for being 9 out in question three!

Then it was my turn . . . .

“Where do the Bronco’s currently play”
Halleluiah! I knew the answer and when I said “Griffin Park” the first point was mine

Feeling a little better, I waited for my second question . . .

“What were the Bronco’s called prior to 1994?”
Fantastic! I knew that one too and my answer of “London Crusaders” won me my second point and the contest was mine, without requiring a third question J

My prize for winning? Just the satisfaction that I had not made a fool of myself and that the pride of Quins and RU was still intact!

I wished Broncos well for the rest of the season, said I was looking forward to welcoming John and all their other fans to the Twickenham Stoop next season, ended the call, heaved a huge sigh of relief and poured a large glass of wine – it should have been Pimms, I know, but wine was quicker!!