Somehow a club that relocated from Hertfordshire to Ottawa last year has now set up home in Cornwall
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
Until last week, Hemel Hempstead, Ottawa and Penryn had very little in common. Now they have been united by that most unlikely concept: a third division rugby league team. It is the strangest of stories.
In September 2018, Hemel Stags were hammered 52-7 at Bradford Bulls in their final game of the League 1 season. Few knew it would be their final game in the professional competition, returning to the amateur ranks after five challenging seasons. The club sold their professional licence to Eric Perez, the Canadian entrepreneur behind the launch of
Toronto Wolfpack, who announced early last year that he was taking the Hemel Stags franchise to Ottawa and rechristening them the Aces. Former Catalans Dragons boss Laurent Frayssinous would be head coach, and a raft of top Championship players signed up to represent Ottawa in League 1 in 2021. Then Covid struck.