Rugby union in Jersey

Rugby union in Jersey

Les Quennevais Rugby Club
Country Jersey
Governing body Rugby Football Union
National team Jersey
First played late 19th century
Clubs 8

Rugby union in Jersey is a popular sport.

Governing body

Rugby union is played in Jersey under the auspices of the Jersey Rugby Association (JRA), which is affiliated to the Hampshire Rugby Football Union but is not a member of the Rugby Football Union of England. As such, it has no national team of its own, and is not affiliated to the IRB in its own right. For this reason, it has no IRB ranking.

History

Due to its proximity to England and the major rugby nation of France, Jersey rugby is amongst the oldest in the world, dating back to the mid 19th century. A most schools play the sport, especially the private ones.

There are several rugby union clubs in the island including a rugby academy for under 18s that (as of April 2012) includes more than 600 players[1] and Les Quennevais Rugby Club.

Jersey R.F.C.[2] are a Jersey rugby club that enjoyed a meteoric rise through the English pyramid from 2005, when they were playing in London South West Division 3 (now known as London 2 South West), to 2012. They earned promotion at the end of that season, and then starting in 2007–08 earned four more in five seasons. The most recent promotion, at the end of the 2011–12 season, placed them in the second-tier RFU Championship,[1] where they have played ever since.

The Siam Cup is an annual Rugby Union competition held between Jersey RFC and Guernsey RFC. It was first contested in 1920.[3] The trophy awarded its winner is the second oldest rugby honour contested after the Calcutta Cup.[4]

Like many small islands, Jersey has a population problem. The main sport is association football, and the national population is just over 90,000.

As yet, Jersey has not fielded a national team.

JRA League

The Jersey Rugby Association (JRA) League[5] features the following teams:

Broadcast media

Jersey has no television of its own but does have its own radio station. However, British and French television can both be received on the island, and often include extensive rugby coverage - such as the Rugby World Cup and Six Nations Championship. The ITV variant Channel Television sometimes includes rugby news.

BBC Radio Jersey has live commentary of every Jersey Rugby Club home game as well as live inserts from every away game.

Notable Jersey players

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Pryor, Tim (23 April 2012). "Jersey promoted: The rise and rise of an island side". BBC Radio Jersey (BBC Sport). Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  2. "Siam cup". Jersey RFC. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
  3. "Siam Cup Preview". BBC. 2007-05-05. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
  4. http://www.jrarugby.com
  5. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/guernseyrfc/
  6. http://www.jerseyunitedbanks.com/
  7. http://www.lqrfc.com
  8. http://www.stjacquesrfc.com/
  9. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/thepanthersrufc/

External links