Despair and anger as Jersey collapse

PLAYERS and staff at Jersey Reds have reacted with despair and anger at the news that the Championship club has ceased training due to unsustainable debt. 

- JON NEWCOMBE

The Reds won last year’s Championship but were denied promotion to the Premiership as they failed to meet the Minimum Standards Criteria. Had they gone up, the Premiership would have lost its fourth club following the demise of Wasps, Worcester and London Irish.

Jersey’s players, still on a high from their 34-10 win at Bath a fortnight ago, woke to a text at 5.30am on Thursday morning requesting they attend a meeting at the club two hours’ later, which is when the bad news was broken to them.

Head coach Rob Webber took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say: “We were led to believe we were in a position of strength. Financially secure. Building until the leagues restructured, then we’d make our move! Then we find out overnight that it has all been a lie? From Champions to this…”

Director of rugby Harvey Biljon said: “The timing of it is terrible. It’s the end of the month, so they won’t get paid in the next couple of days.

“Some of these guys won’t even have the funds to book a flight to get on to the mainland or get home. Some of the guys who are from Australia or South Africa will be stranded.

“I just don’t know how we’re in this position.”