The Phoenix | |
Club information | |
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Full name | Leicester Storm Rugby League Football Club |
Website | leicesterstorm.co.uk |
Colours | Navy Purple & White |
Founded | 1986 |
Current details | |
Ground(s) |
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Chairman | Ty Watson |
Competition | 1st Grade: Co-Op Conference League South Academy: 3v Sport Midlands Rugby League |
Leicester Storm are an amateur community rugby league football club based in Leicester, England. They compete in the Conference League South and their Academy Team compete in the 3v Sport Midlands Rugby League. The club's home is Phoenix Park which is in the suburb of Saffron Lane, South-West Leicester, where they have played since 2006. Leicester are one of the oldest clubs in the Rugby League Conference.
The club was founded in 1986 under the name of Leicester Rugby League, after playing in the East Midlands Amateur Rugby League Association (initially known as the Nottingham & Mansfield Amateur Rugby League Association). The Phoenix were one of the 10 founder members of the Rugby League Conference (then the Southern Conference League) in 1997, reaching the grand final in the inaugural season. In the 1998 season Leicester Rugby League was rebranded Leicester Phoenix.
2010 saw the club rebrand itself as Leicester Storm. The Storm name and colours come from the unique association that Leicester shares with Melbourne Storm.
For the 2013 season, Storm appointed Jamaica national rugby league team coach Dean Thomas as their new head coach, and the club will be competing in the newly formed Conference League South, along with Nottingham, St Albans, Bristol, Northampton and Sheffield Hallam Eagles.
The club was founded in 1986 and Leicester lifted their first silverware in the form of the Nottingham and Mansfield Amateur Rugby League Association (NAMARLA) Division Championship in the 1987/88 season.
During 1993/94, Leicester competed in the East Midlands Amateur League finishing a creditable 3rd. During the season Leicester played at their current home location of Aylestonians. Other successes during this season saw Leicester make it through to the second round of the National Cup only to lose to Carlisle 20–10 away. Leicester also made it through to the second round of the East Midlands Cup (Stephenson Cup) losing to Doncaster 30–18.
1994/95 saw talks of a National Development League in which Leicester, and in particular Chairman Julian Harrison, were at the forefront of discussions alongside the then London Broncos Development Bev Risman.