Jersey Reds

The Jersey Reds (Jèrriais: Les Roge dé Jèrri) is a rugby club based in Jersey that competes at the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English professional rugby system.[1] The club also has an amateur men's side, Jersey Reds Athletic, who play in the Zoo Shield, and Jersey Reds Women, who play in the Women's National Championship South 2 league.

For the defunct American basketball team, see Jersey Reds (basketball).

Jersey Reds
Full nameJersey Reds, formerly Jersey Rugby Football Club
UnionHampshire RFU
Nickname(s)The Islanders
Founded1879 (1879)
LocationSaint Peter, Jersey, Channel Islands
Ground(s)Stade Santander International (capacity: 4,000)
ChairmanMark Morgan
League(s)RFU Championship
2019–207th
Team kit
Official website
www.jerseyreds.je

For the first season of leagues in England in 1987/88, Jersey were in London Three South-West (level 7), and didn't play any higher until promotion in 2005.

Two professional players were signed in 2006 and gradually the club's 1st XV shifted towards full-time professionalism, which was introduced in 2013. By this time Jersey had been promoted four more times to reach, by 2012, the second level of the English pyramid, playing in the Greene King IPA Championship. During this period Jersey contested the knock-out competition for the four winners of the regional leagues at level 5 in 2009/10, defeating Taunton in the semi-final and then Ampthill in the final at Twickenham.

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 England, Scotland, Wales, 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 years 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. In 2011, Jersey were promoted to National League 1 through a play-off game at home to Loughborough Students.[3] The club's 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
Main article: 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]
  • 2017-18 Semi Final [17]

Ground

Jersey play at the Stade Santander International which is adjacent to Jersey Airport.

Club honours

Current standings
2020–21 RFU Championship Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Tries for Tries against Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1Ampthill000000000000
2Bedford Blues000000000000
3Cornish Pirates000000000000
4Coventry000000000000
5Doncaster Knights000000000000
6Ealing Trailfinders000000000000
7Hartpury University000000000000
8Jersey Reds000000000000
9London Scottish000000000000
10Nottingham000000000000
11Richmond000000000000
12Saracens000000000000
  • 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.
Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". England Rugby.

Current squad
For player movements before or during the 2020–21 season, see List of 2020–21 RFU Championship transfers § Jersey Reds.

The Jersey Reds squad for the 2020–21 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
Harry Doolan Hooker England
George Edgson Hooker England
Jack Macfarlane Hooker Scotland
Ziana Alexis Prop England
Ollie Dawe Prop England
Roy Godfrey Prop South Africa
Jack Higgins Prop England
Ciaran Parker Prop England
Dan Richardson Prop England
Macauley Cook Lock Wales
Zak Farrance Lock England
Shay Kerry Lock England
Seán O'Connor Lock Ireland
Kyle Hatherell Lock South Africa
Max Argyle Back row England
Josh Bainbridge Back row England
Rory Bartle Back row Wales
Rory Pitman Back row Wales
Jake Upfield Back row Australia
Lewis Wynne Back row Scotland
Player Position Union
Michael Dowsett Scrum-half Australia
James Elliott Scrum-half England
Brendan Cope Fly-half England
Sam Leeming Fly-half England
Lesley Klim Centre Namibia
Apakuki Ma'afu Centre Tonga
Jack Roberts Centre Wales
George Spencer Centre Scotland
Ryan Hutler Wing England
Brendan Owen Wing South Africa
Tom Williams Wing Wales
Kurt Heatherley Fullback Australia

References
  1. "Jersey Reds - Fixtures - Tables - Academy - Tickets - Shop". www.jrfc.je. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  2. "JRFC announces launch of the Jersey Reds" (Press release). Jersey Reds. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. "404". www.jrfc.je. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012.
  4. "Jersey Rugby suffer narrow defeat". Channelonline.tv. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  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. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  17. "Agony follows ecstasy as Reds fall just short". Jersey Evening Post. 23 April 2018.
  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 22 September 2018.
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