Craven Cottage
London (Hammersmith), Greater London, England
Craven Cottage, London (Hammersmith), England — opened 1896, 72 rugby league games hosted, home of None (Fulham RLFC's home 1980-1984; primarily and continuously Fulham F.C.).
Sourcing caveat: Sources differ slightly on the exact end date of Fulham RLFC's Craven Cottage tenancy: Wikipedia states 1980-1984, matching Rugby League Project's last recorded fixture there (25 April 1984); a Love Rugby League retrospective instead states the club 'moved to a new home at Chiswick Polytechnic Sports Ground in 1985'. This may simply reflect the close-season gap between the last 1984 Craven Cottage fixture and the first Chiswick one in early 1985 rather than a real disagreement, but it is not resolved here.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1896 |
| Home club | None (Fulham RLFC's home 1980-1984; primarily and continuously Fulham F.C.) |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 72 |
| Top recorded crowd | 15,013 |
| Capacity | 27,782 (current, all-seated; was a lower, mixed standing/seated capacity during the rugby league era) |
| Floodlights installed | 1962 (Fulham F.C. were the last First Division club to install floodlights) |
| First rugby league match | 18 October 1911 — England 6-11 Australia, Kangaroos Tour 1911/12 (Game 8), attendance 6,000 (a standalone rugby league international, decades before Fulham RLFC existed) |
| Last rugby league match | 25 April 1984 — Fulham 23-13 Widnes, Championship 1983/84 midweek fixture, attendance 1,146 |
| Years used | 1911–1984 |
| Location | London (Hammersmith), Greater London |
Name history
- Craven Cottage — since 1896 (Fulham F.C.'s home throughout; used for rugby league 1911 and 1980-1984)
Rugby league history
Craven Cottage's rugby league history is really two separate, unconnected episodes. The first was a single one-off: an England vs Australia international during the Kangaroos' 1911/12 tour, played there simply because it was an available London football ground, long before any London-based rugby league club existed. The second, and by far the larger, was Fulham RLFC, founded in 1980 by Fulham F.C. chairman Ernie Clay as an attempt to introduce rugby league to London in the professional ranks. Fulham RLFC used Craven Cottage as their home ground from 1980 to 1984, memorably beating Wigan 24-5 in their first-ever match in front of nearly 10,000 spectators — more than double the football club's average gate that season — and drawing their record rugby league crowd at the ground, 15,013, against Wakefield Trinity on 15 February 1981. The rugby league side subsequently left Craven Cottage for Chiswick Polytechnic Sports Ground (by 1985), and went on to become London Crusaders, then London Broncos, then Harlequins RL, before reverting to the Broncos name.
Craven Cottage is primarily, and has been continuously since 1896, the home of Fulham F.C. in the Football League/Premier League; the rugby league tenancy was a comparatively brief sideline arrangement by the football club's own chairman.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
← Rugby League · Champions list · All-time records · Grand Final results · World Cup · All competitions · Teams · Players