Today, the London Warriors and Manchester Titans will battle it out in BritBowl XXXIV to decide this year’s national champion.
The Warriors head coach Tony Allen has led the team to six National Championships since their promotion to the Premiership in 2011 after forming the South London based team in 2007.
Allen has been a sturdy pillar in European coaching for years with his resume spanning multiple federations including NFL Europe and NFL International. He has also fostered the talents of former and current NFL players including Washington Commanders defensive end Efe Obada.
Following a Covid-19 year that saw only friendly games, 2022 offered British football its first regular season since 2019. During this time, the Warriors lost a number of key starters to retirement and were forced to rebuild. But under the tutelage of Allen the team has remained undefeated throughout the regular season.
After an unbeaten, 10-0 regular season, the Warriors faced the Tamworth Phoenix in the one semifinal, downing them 28-20 two weeks ago in a comeback victory. However, during the second half of that win, a significant blow was dealt to the team when starting quarterback Denapoli Williams was lost to a torn Meniscus. Williams was the driving force of the offense this year, throwing for 33 touchdowns and rushing for a further 10.
Replacing him in the final will be Nick Jaquet who has won a host of National Championships himself with the team in his tenure. In the backfield will be former NFL running back Jermaine Allen and Raymond Sobowale who played with the Leipzig Kings of the European League of Football in 2021.
On the other side of the ball will be underdog Manchester Titans who will be appearing in their first ever National Championship game after beating a stacked Bristol Aztecs squad in the playoffs two weeks ago.
Quarterbacking the Titans will be Sam Bloomfield who has decimated Premiership North secondaries this year throwing for 2,270 yards and 43 touchdowns.
Since moving to the Titans from the Lancashire Wolverines in 2017, Bloomfield has not only managed to spur his team onto a promotion into the Premiership but also made a postseason appearance every year since.
Along with a number of talented players on both sides of the ball the recent success of the program has been in part down to the efforts of head coach Jonathon Homer.
Homer has played an integral role in the development of the U19, flag and women’s team, creating a strong grassroots program that has fed talent into the adult team.
This Premiership BritBowl is just the latest for Homer in a string of appearances for the highly successful club since joining the Titans in 2013, a team he played tight end for between 2005-10 – reminiscent of HBO Hard Knocks star Dan Cambell.
After years of undefeated seasons, the Warriors will undoubtedly be favorites going into this one. But as the new kids on the block Manchester will surely have other plans as they look to cement their name in BritBowl history.
London Warriors vs Manchester Titans, Sept. 3, 18:00 CET (6 pm, 12 noon ET)
