 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Greenwich Admirals Rugby League Football Club |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Website | www.greenwichrl.com (dead) |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
|
| Competition | Rugby League Conference South Premier |
Greenwich Admirals is a rugby league team based in Greenwich, London. They play in the South Premier of the Rugby League Conference.
The Greenwich Admirals side was founded in 2001 as the brainchild of Chief Executive of the London Broncos' Lionel Hurst and under the guidance of development officer Graeme Thompson. Greenwich Admirals were to continue the Broncos' development work in the area after the Broncos moved away from south east London to a new home in Brentford.
An introductory game was played on 11 August 2001 against South London Storm, the Admirals team being made up of rugby union players from Old Brockleians RFC and Greenwich RFC and players borrowed from Storm; Greenwich won 28 - 24.
Jason Henley was recruited as Head Coach and in February 2002, the club was formally set up with a committee, constitution and club rules. Greenwich made it to the 2002 London League grand final in their inaugural season. The final against Crawley Jets held at Crawley, was won 38 - 22.
Greenwich Admirals joined the London & South Division of the Rugby League Conference in 2003 whilst a Greenwich Admirals second team took part in the London League. The first team won more games than it lost, finally finding form at the end of the season with victories over South London Storm, North London Skolars A and Essex Eels on the way to the RLC Shield quarter-finals. The second team reached the semi-finals of the London League play-offs.
The club moved to the Woolwich Barracks Rugby Fields in 2004. Greenwich lost only one game all year on the way to the South Divisional Final. Greenwich went down to a West London Sharks side led by Trevor Leota in the final.
In 2005, the Conference developed a new tier of Premier Divisions, Greenwich Admirals stepped up to the newly created Premier South. The club was thrown into turmoil as it lost its coaching team because of outside issues. The club lost senior players and had to be replaced by second team and junior players. The season closed with the team finishing bottom of the table.
Greenwich left the Premier South and joined the South East Division of the Conference. The club relocated again to Mayday Gardens. Greenwich beat Kent Ravens in a play-off eliminator to set up a grand final against new boys Broadstairs Bulldogs which they lost.
In 2007, the first team finished third in their division on points difference and were eliminated at the semi-final stage of the divisional play-offs.
In 2009 Greenwich Admirals youth section had a very successful year. The under-14s reached the final but lost to Elmbridge Eagles in what was seen as a one-sided encounter. The under-16s reached the semi-finals but were also edged out 36-12 by Elmbridge Eagles. The under-18s, who were only formed in the 2009 season, also reached the final but lost to South London Storm Academy.
Greenwich Admirals run youth age groups in the London Junior League from under-14s all the way up to under-18s, giving the first team a great feed of youth talent.
Greenwich Admirals' youth section, is renowned for producing good players. This was shown in 2009 when Jacko Brennan and Gary Sergeant were both selected in the 32-man England squad for games against France and the Australian Institute Of Sport.
In 2010 both the under-16 and under-18 teams became London champions beating Hainault and Medway in their respective finals. Greenwich Admirals now play their games in Kidbrooke Lane, Eltham, at Blackheath FC Well Hall ground.
The Rugby League Conference, also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland, and Wales.
Oxford Cavaliers Rugby League Football Club is the first amateur rugby league club formed in Oxford in the summer era.
South London Storm was a rugby league club who played and trained at Archbishop Lanfranc School in the London Borough of Croydon. They competed in the London and South East Merit League.
The Kent Ravens are a defunct amateur rugby league club from Eltham in south-east London, founded in 2004 by Alan Bacon. They played at Princes Park.
The Cardiff Demons RLFC name has been used multiple times over the years. Firstly for a now-defunct men's rugby league side, and subsequently for a women's rugby league side who began in 2021.
Nottingham Outlaws are a rugby league club from the city of Nottingham, England. They were founded in 1999 and their first team plays in the Premier Division of the Yorkshire Men's League. They have a junior section and in 2006 launched an academy team. They play their home matches at their own ground at Lenton Lane Nottingham NG7. They are also known as the 'hooded men'.
Bristol Sonics are a rugby league club based in Bristol in the South West of England.
Gloucestershire Warriors RLFC are a rugby league team from the county of Gloucestershire in England. They play in the Conference League South and in 2006 made their debut in the Challenge Cup.
The St Albans Centurions are a rugby league club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The club plays their home games at Toulmin Drive, St Albans and their clubhouse is in High Oaks, St Albans.
The Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased by Eric Perez and permission was granted by the RFL to relocate it, this would ultimately lead to Cornwall R.L.F.C. entering League 1. The extensive community rugby league teams at Hemel Stags were unaffected As such, Hemel Stags still ran an amateur team at the Southern Conference League East Division in the 2021 season
Gateshead Storm are an amateur rugby league club in the North East of England. They play in the NCL Division Three.
West London Sharks RLFC was a rugby league team based in Chiswick, London. West London Sharks are now playing at Chiswick RFU, Dukes Meadow, in Chiswick under the name of South West London Chargers. They compete in the South Premier Division of the Rugby League Conference. The club runs an additional social side in the London League competition and a women's team playing in the Women's South competition.
Elmbridge Eagles RL are a rugby league club from Elmbridge in Surrey. They were one of the founding members of the Rugby League Conference as Kingston.
Leicester Storm was an amateur community rugby league football club based in Leicester, England. They competed in the Conference League South and their Academy Team competed in the Midlands Rugby League. The club's home was Phoenix Park which is in the suburb of Saffron Lane, South-West Leicester, where they played since 2006. Leicester were one of the oldest clubs in the Rugby League Conference.
The Rugby League Conference (RLC), also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group, was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
Featherstone Lions are an amateur rugby league club from Featherstone, West Yorkshire who play in the National Conference League and the Yorkshire Men's League. The juniors play in the Yorkshire Junior & Youth League. The club also has open age women and 3 girls' teams.
The London and South East Rugby League is a summer rugby league competition for amateur teams in London and the surrounding area. The competition was formed in 2005 as the RLC Southern Premier. Its name changed following the 2012 restructure of amateur rugby league in Great Britain.
The Rugby League Conference (RLC), also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from the Co-operative Group, is a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland, and Wales.
Hainault Bulldogs were a rugby league team based in Dagenham, Greater London. They played in the South Premier Division of the Rugby League Conference.
The Midlands Rugby League is a series of summer rugby league competition for amateur teams in the Midlands. The competition was formed in 2006 as the RLC Midlands Premier. Its name changed following the 2012 restructure of amateur rugby league in Great Britain