As London Broncos celebrate Old Boys Day at their home match against Halifax Panthers this weekend, the parents of one remarkable former player have urged all to support next week’s Rugby League Cares Charity Round.
The late Matt King OBE played a single match for the Broncos Academy team at Halifax in 2004, suffering a serious spinal injury which left him paralysed from the neck down and unable to breathe independently.
Matt’s response to his injury was simply inspirational, both personally and professionally – as recognised in 2013 when he was awarded the OBE for services to charity. He was married and doted on two daughters, and earned a first-class honours law degree, joining the in-house legal counsel team in Formula One at the Williams Group - and is pictured above with a young Sam Tomkins and the rest of the England squad at Wembley during the 2011 Four Nations competition.
The Seriously Injured Players Fund is part of his legacy, as it was founded as the Rugby League Benevolent Fund in the year following his injury.
It has provided support to dozens of players and their families over the last two decades – and the Charity Round, which concludes with the 1895 Cup Final on Bank Holiday Monday, has been introduced in 2026 to allow the whole sport to come together to raise funds and awareness for the Seriously Injured Players Fund.
Matt’s father, Chris, recalls that Broncos co-owner Darren Lockyer was part of a Kangaroos touring team who inspired him even before the foundation of the Benevolent Fund.
“We were invited down to a Tri-Nations game between Australia and New Zealand at Loftus Road in 2004, in the early days after Matthew’s injury. At the end of the match Wayne Bennett brought all the Australian squad to talk to Matthew – not as an injured person, just to talk about the match. He loved that – that was his environment, he was a sportsman.”
It was at the following year’s Magic Weekend in Cardiff that the Benevolent Fund was born – in circumstances which stir memories in Chris every time he sees a collection bucket. “We’d bought 30 or 40 orange buckets from B&Q,” he explains. “In our naivety I didn’t appreciate there were so many rules around fund-raising. I’m pretty sure I ignored all of them.”
There will be some bucket collections for the Charity Round next weekend, but also QR codes and Just Giving links – with fans asked to show their support for the four long-term beneficiaries of the fund who are defying their injuries to take on a gruelling physical challenge on Armbikes over the weekend Seriously Injured Players Fund is fundraising for RFL Benevolent Fund
But for Chris and Matt’s mum, Glenda, it is the more organised and structured response to serious injuries that has followed the establishment of the Benevolent Fund which has been one of its greatest strengths.
“When you go back to when Matthew was injured there was nothing,” says Glenda, herself a qualified nurse. “It’s all come from that point really – everybody suddenly realised they had nothing in place.
“For us it was really nice that people wanted to help, but nobody really knew the best way to help. Now there’s a network there to offer support, for networking, for social care, who to talk to, getting the medical and legal advice.”
Both Chris and Glenda pay tribute to Stephen Ball, the long-serving General Manager of the Benevolent Fund who stepped down last year – and was awarded the MBE in 2021 for services to Rugby League charities.
“Steve’s been there for the long haul, through the dark years,” added Chris. “Things would channel through him. He’s a very good bloke.”
Francis Stephenson, who succeeded Steve as General Manager last year, will be attending the Broncos' Old Boys Day at Wimbledon on Sunday having spent four seasons in London - during which he was among the Broncos players who visited Matt in Stoke Mandeville's specialist spinal unit, alongside coach Tony Rea.
Rugby League Cares are making a birthday request of fans ahead of next weekend’s Charity Round – a £2 donation to support the Seriously Injured Players Fund, as the sport celebrates its 131st anniversary.
To show your support, click here – Seriously Injured Players Fund is fundraising for RFL Benevolent Fund
Or for further details about the Charity Round and the Batec Armbikes Challenge, click here - On their bikes – for the Seriously Injured Players Fund