The Lord Jersey Rugby Cup was founded in 2008 by the 10th Earl of Jersey, with the help of Rugby Development officer for Jersey, Mark White, and is an annual cup for rugby at U16 level.
The cup itself is a solid silver, 19" high, highly decorative trophy with the Earl of Jersey's crest of a Lion Rampant and an Eagle with an asp in its mouth, an Earl's coronet above and the inscription "The Lord Jersey Rugby Cup. Founded in 2008 by the 10th Earl of Jersey" and was described as "one of the most handsome in Channel Island Sport"[1].
The inaugural competition was held on the 26 March, close to the 10th year anniversary of the death of the 10th Earl's father, George Henry Child Villiers, Viscount Villiers, at the Jersey Rugby Club, Jersey.
The cup was founded with the intention of encouraging young players to continue playing at an age where the greatest drop off in playing members occurs, Under 16's. It was inspired by the 10th Earl's work with the Prince's Trust in Jersey along with his love for the sport of Rugby.
The aim is to expand the competition to teams from the UK and the other Channel Islands.
The cup was contested by 6 schools , all from Jersey, in two groups:
Group 1
| TEAM | ..P.. | ..W.. | ..D.. | ..L.. | ..TF.. | ..TA.. | ..PTS.. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Quennevais |
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
10
|
| Le Rocquier |
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
5
|
| Hautlieu |
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
Group 2
| TEAM | ..P.. | ..W.. | ..D.. | ..L.. | ..TF.. | ..TA.. | ..PTS.. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria College |
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
10
|
| Haute Vallée |
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
2
|
5
|
| De La Salle |
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
8
|
0
|
The competition then split into 3 finals, the 3rd place teams in each group (Hautlieu and De La Salle) playing for the Lord Jersey Rugby Plate, the 2nd place teams in each group (Le Rocquier and Haute Vallée) playing for the Lord Jersey Rugby Shield and the winners of each group (Victoria College and Les Quennevais) playing for the Lord Jersey Rugby Cup.
The Plate was won by Hautlieu with a score of 24 to De La Salle's 0
The Shield was won by Haute Vallée with a score of 12 to Le Rocquier's 0
The Lord Jersey Rugby Cup was won by Victoria College with a score of 26 to Les Quennevais' 0 (including a penalty try.)
Le Rocquier won the Fair Play trophy
The two referees were Oliver Gleaves and Will Church. The final for the Lord Jersey Rugby Cup was refereed by Will Church.
The cup was presented by The William Webb-Ellis, Rugby World Cup winner, Kyran Bracken.
Vouchers to purchase equipment were presented as follows:
All participating schools were awarded £300.
Since the inaugural cup the following Rugby VIPs have presented the cup.
2009: 2003 Rugby World Cup winning manager Sir Clive Woodward 2010: 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Richard Hill 2011: 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood