World Footy News

It was a perfect day for footy at the weekend as the annual Brit Cup took place in Reading, hosted by the local Kangaroos. The event was extremely well-attended, with entries from London, regional England, Wales and Scotland, and the standard was as high as has been seen in recent years, with all teams contributing some great footy to the proceedings.

Organised in two groups of five teams, each squad would play 4 matches before the winners and runners-up from each group faced off in semis, then Grand Final. Playing 12-a-side matches with 12 minute halves meant that every point counted and the team which grabbed the initiative first would be favourites.

There was plenty of space on the ovals with the reduced numbers and there was some great flowing footy displayed throughout the day, even without the presence of the club's Aussies, who took full advantage to enjoy the sunshine. Group 1 saw reigning champions the West London Wildcats defeat all-comers, but not as comfortably as they would have hoped. The Putney Magpies took second spot, beating out the Reading Kangaroos, the representative Scottish side and the Aussie Rules UK Central England team. With several youngsters from Carshalton College breaking through into the ranks, bolstered by the numerous GB Bulldogs players, the Wildcats look to be heading the right way about recruiting the next generation of domestic talent.

In Group 2, the struggle for finals spots was much closer, coming down to percentages for the first time in Brit Cup recent years. The North London Lions just pipped the WARFL Red Devils for the top spot, testifying to the younger league's development in recent years. It should be noted that the Red Devils represent the Welsh league, as opposed to the Cymru (Wales) Red Dragons, which is the Welsh national side and play in other tournaments (though drawn mostly from the WARFL).

Also in Group 2, current AFL London league leaders, the Wandsworth Demons missed out on finals, as did the traditionally strong Nottingham Scorpions and last year's runners-up from the Aussie Rules UK South Coast league.

The semi-finals were hotly contested right to the final whistle, with West London defeating the WARFL by 3 goals and Putney seeing off a 2nd half rally from North London with a late goal to claim the other final spot. This set up a clash between two teams with probably the strongest bases of British players in the UK, with strong representation from both teams in the GB Bulldogs and vast amounts of experience on the field. The match was contested well and there was some great footy played, but in the end West London triumphed to retain the trophy for another year.

The event was a great showpiece for British footy, from players young and old, rookies and 10 year veterans. There were good opportunities for the Bulldogs' management to take a look at the potential squad members for the future and some fantastic footy for the supporters who came down to enjoy the sun. It was great to see the friendly rivalries developing, buoyed by the wider range of clubs now boasting Bulldogs players in their ranks, which has helped to build ties between players as never before. It's back to the leagues next week, but for another year, the event showed that footy is definitely here to stay and gathering support amongst the locals.