Jersey Reds

Jersey Reds
Full name Jersey Reds, formerly Jersey Rugby Football Club
Union Hampshire RFU
Nickname(s) The Islanders
Founded 1879 (1879)
Location Saint Peter, Jersey, Channel Islands
Ground(s) Stade Santander International (capacity: 4,000)
Chairman Mark Morgan
Coach(es) Harvey Biljon
League(s) RFU Championship
2017–18 5th
Team kit
Official website
www.jerseyreds.je

The Jersey Reds (Jèrriais: Les Roge dé Jèrri) is a rugby club based in Jersey that competes at the RFU Championship.[1] In the 2009–10 season JRFC won their play-off at Twickenham and also in the 2012–13 beat their greatest rivals Guernsey to win the Siam Cup for the fifth consecutive year. Jersey gained promotion by winning National League One and are now in RFU Championship.

The team was known as the Jersey Rugby Football Club until the start of the 2016–17 season, when they changed their name to the Jersey Reds.[2]

History

Rugby has been played in Jersey since 1879 with breaks for war and the Nazi occupation, but the modern era started when the club acquired the land for a permanent home in Saint Peter near Jersey Airport in 1961; the original wooden clubhouse was built in 1964, its approximate location was in the middle of the Jersey Bowl carpark. From the early 1970s, when tourism in the island was at its peak, Jersey attracted many of rugby's top clubs who could combine a break from their regular fixtures with a game against the JRFC.

This period culminated with a very successful Centenary year in 1979, teams with international players came over to play and help celebrate this event, including JPR Williams. This decade left the club with an unequalled collection of plaques and memorabilia, with teams coming from the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia (the beachguard connection) and the Netherlands.

Jersey vs. Barking at St. Peter, 5 November 2011

The current clubhouse was opened in September 1994 and corresponded approximately with the start of the leagues; by then Jersey could not rely on random visiting sides and had to join the league in Hampshire.

In the summer of 2010 the new Lord Jersey Stand was built between the 1st XV pitch and the Airport Road and the Pavilion, with kitchen and bar, to the east of the main club facilities. This was to provide amenities for the increasing number of spectators due to the further success of the 1st XV.

The last few years19 October 2018 have seen the first team work its way up the National Leagues, winning the overall National League 3 in 2010 and progressing to National League 2 South. Most recently in 2011, Jersey were promoted to National League 1 through a play-off game at home to Loughborough Students.[3] The clubs kit is red with black shorts and socks and the away shirts are blue with black shorts and socks.

During their first season in National League 1 Jersey suffered a narrow defeat in their first game against Fylde[4] and also lost their first home game in two and a half years against Ealing.[5] They were also docked 5 points for fielding too many foreign players in their defeat to Cinderford.[6] Despite these setbacks Jersey bounced back winning 11 games in a row and ended 2011 second in the National League 1 table, only 1 point behind Ealing.[7] In their first game of 2012 they beat top of the table Ealing 24–16, making promotion a very real possibility.[8] This run continued with wins against Rosslyn Park, Cinderford, Wharfedale and Stourbridge, giving them 19 wins in a row, but stuttered against Barking but since have won all their remaining games, most notably an away win against Coventry in which over 400 Jersey fans went to Coventry,[9] to win promotion to the Championship.[10] They had fantastic attendances at St Peter during the 2011–12 National League 1 season including a club record crowd of 3,648 for a 20-18 win over Rosslyn Park on 25 January 2012.[11]

In July 2012, it was reported that the States of Jersey Economic Development Department would sponsor the club for one year at a cost of £75,000.[12]

Siam Cup

The Siam Cup is the annual Rugby Union competition held between the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. It was first contested in 1920.[13] In 2016, it was declared that Jersey could only select players for the Siam Cup if they had been on the island for three years, Guernsey, playing in a league at Level 5, would be unaffected by the change.[14][15]

British and Irish Cup

First entered competition in 2012-13 season.

  • 2015-16 Semi Final
  • 2016-17 Finalist[16]

Ground

Jersey play at the St. Peter grounds which is adjacent to Jersey Airport. Jersey have lodged planning applications to build a stand seating around 950 people, extensions to the clubhouse, permission to use a new pitch for parking and an entrance to this from the road.[17]

Club honours

Current standings

2017–18 RFU Championship Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Loss bonus Points
1Bristol (C)222101949417532181103
2Ealing Trailfinders22161576652224415283
3Bedford Blues2211296545767814668
4Cornish Pirates221201068157710410967
5Jersey Reds221318542480628365
6Yorkshire Carnegie221228518547-299263
7Doncaster Knights229112582615-3313657
8Nottingham2210111547619−727352
9Richmond229013444597-1536446
10Hartpury College226115480623-1439742
11London Scottish226115521707-1868640
12Rotherham Titans (R)222020376780−4042414
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background is the relegation place.
Updated: 28 April 2018
Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". NCA Rugby.

Current squad

The Jersey Reds squad for the 2018–19 season is:[23]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Jack Macfarlane Hooker Scotland Scotland
Charlie Maddison Hooker England England
Nick Selway Hooker England England
Lee Roy Atalifo Prop Fiji Fiji
Alec Carey Prop England England
Roy Godfrey Prop South Africa South Africa
Cameron Holenstein Prop South Africa South Africa
Harry Morley Prop England England
Sam Rodman Prop England England
Adam Batt Lock New Zealand New Zealand
Charlie Beckett Lock England England
Kyle Hatherell Lock South Africa South Africa
Dave McKern Lock Australia Australia
Jerry Sexton Lock Ireland Ireland
Max Argyle Back row England England
Rory Bartle Back row Wales Wales
Graham Geldenhuys Back row South Africa South Africa
Conor Joyce Back row Ireland Ireland
Jake Upfield Back row Australia Australia
Janco Venter Back row Namibia Namibia
Player Position Union
Joel Dudley Scrum-half England England
Will Homer Scrum-half England England
Hilton Muradiki Scrum-half Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
Brett Herron Fly-half England England
Aaron Penberthy Fly-half England England
Mark Best Centre Ireland Ireland
George Eastwell Centre England England
Apakuki Ma'afu Centre Tonga Tonga
James Newey Centre Ireland Ireland
Josh Hodson Wing Wales Wales
Koch Marx Wing South Africa South Africa
Jack Stapley Wing Ireland Ireland
Leroy Van Dam Wing New Zealand New Zealand
Augustin Slowik Fullback England England
Jason Worrall Fullback South Africa South Africa

References

  1. ↑ "Jersey Reds - Fixtures - Tables - Academy - Tickets - Shop". www.jrfc.je.
  2. ↑ "JRFC announces launch of the Jersey Reds" (Press release). Jersey Reds. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "404". www.jrfc.je.
  4. ↑ "Jersey Rugby suffer narrow defeat". Channelonline.tv. 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  5. ↑ "Jersey lose unbeaten home record with defeat by Ealing". 18 September 2011 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Jersey docked five points for picking to many foreign players". 6 October 2011 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Harvey expects Jersey winning momentum to be maintained". 23 December 2011 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "National League One: Ealing Trailfinders 16-24 Jersey". 9 April 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "Jersey promoted to Championship by beating Coventry". 21 April 2012 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Champions Jersey finish with 23-8 win over Fylde". 28 April 2012 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Jersey 20 - 18 Rosslyn Park - Match Report & Highlights". Sky Sports. 25 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "States department sponsors Jersey Rugby Club". BBC. 3 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Siam cup". Jersey RFC. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Rugby: Major Siam shake-up". jerseyeveningpost.com.
  15. ↑ "Siam Cup 2016: Only eight Jersey professionals will play against Guernsey". BBC. 16 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Jersey reds lose at Irish Independent Park". Jersey Evening Post. 21 April 2017.
  17. ↑ "Ground developments at JRFC". Jrfc.je. 21 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "Hampshire Rugby". www.hampshirerugby.co.uk.
  19. ↑ "Hampshire Rugby". www.hampshirerugby.co.uk.
  20. ↑ London 3 South-West. Hampshirerugby.co.uk.
  21. ↑ MatchByDivision Archived 21 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine.. Clubs.rfu.com.
  22. ↑ BBC Sport – Rugby Union – Jersey win National Three Cup Final. BBC News (8 May 2010).
  23. ↑ "Player Profiles". Jersey Reds. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
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