Richard Branson made sure rugby league was the only sport played in Britain on day of Diana’s death

Princess Diana‘s tragic death in 1997 threw the entire United Kingdom into mourning, and just one sporting match was allowed to be played in the aftermath: a Super League game full of Aussie rugby league stars organised by Sir Richard Branson.

When the beloved Royal figure died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, her death rocked the world – and one of the first responses by the British government was to cancel all sporting clashes on the day of her death.

Except one.

Virgin entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson with close friend Princess Diana four years prior to her tragic death

The London Broncos, which featured Aussie star Terry Matterson (pictured), were part of the only sporting clash to be held on the day of Princess Diana’s death in 1997

The London Broncos were set to play in the final match of Super League’s regular season against Bradford at the iconic Twickenham Stoop.

Branson, a director at the Broncos and close friend of Princess Di, reached out to Britain’s Home Secretary at the time, Jack Straw, and got permission for the match to go ahead given thousands of fans were already on their way to the game. 

‘It’s some story,’ Broncos part-owner, at the time, Barry Maranta, told the Sydney Morning Herald on the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death. 

The London Broncos were previously known as the Crusaders until the powerful, rich NRL club the Brisbane Broncos took control of the Super League club in 1994.

Shaun Edwards playing for the London Broncos in 1997. He would go on to play an incredible 542 top-flight matches

By 1997, they’d become powerful in the UK competition, as well. 

Maranta and his fellow owners wanted to bring a bit of pizazz to their games to set them apart from the heavily traditional league and rugby union games in Britain at the time. 

‘We had cheerleaders, singers, bands. I’d brought the principles of American football to rugby league. Nobody else in UK sport was doing that,’ Maranta said.

Tulsen Tollett, right, who played in both Australia and the UK, fends off a Bradford defender while playing for the Broncos in 1997

This was right up Branson’s alley. The Virgin entrepreneur was not of a fan of the stuffy requirements of the more ‘normal’ British sporting customs.

He famously refused to wear ties, and when he attended a Broncos game by chance, he was transfixed by the more casual, party-like atmosphere. 

Branson loved it so much he stunningly shunned the chance to join the board of EPL powerhouse Manchester United, and became a director at the Broncos instead.

When his close friend Diana passed away in the very early hours ahead of the club’s scheduled clash against Bradford, Branson stepped in.

Sir Richard Branson (right) with Princess Diana on the day his airline Virgin named a plane after the Princess of Wales

Diana, pictured just two months prior to her tragic death, was one of the Royal Family’s most beloved figures in recent memory

With thousands of fans already on the train to the game, the Virgin owner contacted Straw, who then allowed the match to go ahead, despite an EPL clash on the day already being cancelled.

Permission was given on the condition that the typical Broncos fanfare of entertainment and cheerleaders be dropped, but there was one moment prior to the game no one would be able to forget: Branson’s emotional eulogy. 

With the sold-out crowd of almost 10,000 standing in solemn silence and a huge contingent of UK media watching on, the entrepreneur read out a letter Diana had sent him when he was involved in a car crash of his own. 

Sir Richard Branson, pictured in the 1990s and recently, has a famously casual dress sense

When he finished, he asked the crowd: ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could write that letter to Diana?’ 

Appropriately, the Broncos were too good, winning an exciting game 28-24.

There were plenty of Aussies NRL stars appearing in the match, with Indigenous icon Tony Currie coaching the Broncos, and Matthew Elliott – who coached 404 Super League and NRL games before moving into the media – heading up Bradford.  

Aussie star Terry Matterson (left) plays for the London Broncos in 1997

Tulsen Tollett and Shaun Edwards played for the Broncos, while current Manly CEO Tony Mestrov played in the second row and Terry Matterson, uncle of Eels star Ryan, starred at lock.

Matterson previously played for the Brisbane arm of the Broncos, and was later inducted into their hall of fame. 

Bradford’s side included Kiwi star Robbie Paul, and Super League legends Brian McDermott and Steve McNamara – who is currently coaching a bevy of former Aussies at Catalans. 

Kiwi star Robbie Paul (left) makes a break while playing for Bradford against the Broncos

It was just a week later when Branson officially became a majority shareholder in the Broncos.

He had to sell out of the club in 2002, but they made the Challenge Cup final in 1999, going down 52-16 to Leeds. 

‘And Richard walked out onto Wembley, no blazer or tie,’ Maranta said of that match.