Jersey Rugby Football Club is an amateur rugby union club based in

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. They were formerly a part of

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds was a rugby union club based in Jersey, Channel Islands. On 28th September 2023, the club ceased trading and shortly thereafter went into liquidation following the withdrawal of financial support from a key investor. Until seaso ...

as Jersey Athletic but separated in 2022 and are now known by the original name, Jersey Reds). The 1st XV play in the Regional 1 South Central – a league at level 5 of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England consi ...

– following their promotion from

Regional 2 South Central Regional 2 South Central is a level six league in the English rugby union system, one of twelve leagues, at this level. Originally part of the South West Division of the RFU, the league was transferred to the London & SE Division for season ...

in 2023–24 season.

Background

Jersey Athletic was founded in 2013 as a way for amateurs in Jersey to have a chance to play for Jersey. They would play in the Zoo Sports shield for reserve teams. They would also host sides touring Jersey, often following the first team after high-profile friendlies such as playing

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

after the first team had played

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground, Bath, Rec ...

. Myles Landick after retiring from playing became the head coach of Jersey Athletic in 2015. In 2017, Jersey Reds announced they would look into entering Jersey Athletic in the English rugby pyramid, however this was not permitted due to

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

rules at the time that forbade clubs having two teams in the league system.

Separation

In 2022, Jersey Reds applied to the

to split off Jersey Athletic as a separate club. Their rationale was that it was no longer suitable for a professional club to be run by amateur members and would free up resources. In July 2022, the RFU approved the split which allowed Jersey Athletic, renamed Jersey RFC, to enter the English leagues on their own. Due to a restructuring of English rugby, Jersey RFC were placed in Counties 1 Hampshire at level 7 of the English rugby pyramid instead of at the bottom. Jersey RFC played their first match as an independent club in August 2022 against Oxford Harlequins at St Peter as part of a double-header as Jersey Reds played

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

prior. In their debut season, they were promoted as champions of Counties 1 Hampshire. Despite Jersey Reds suspending trading in September 2023, Jersey RFC continued due to their legal separation. They subsequently won promotion in their next season.

References

{{Reflist 2013 establishments in Jersey Rugby clubs established in 2013 Rugby union in Jersey Sports clubs and teams in Jersey