Former European Champions First Up For Jersey Reds

Monday, 8 February 2021 15:41

Jersey Reds will start the new Championship season against former European champions Saracens on Saturday 13 March, as long as the island's government gives consent.

Discussions are continuing this week.

Jersey has agreed to surrender home advantage for two early games, with the first of three home league matches scheduled for Saturday 24 April.

The start of the season has been delayed by several months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"There’s been a lot of hard work taking place behind the scenes to get to this point, with a series of extra protocols and testing requirements to ensure a high level of mitigation against Covid-19,” he said.

"We have been working closely with the Government of Jersey and understand the need to make sure all necessary precautions are taken. There are still some remaining details to be finalised, but we are hopeful this process will be completed soon.

"As part of our willingness to be flexible in order to get the season started, we have indicated that we are willing to accept a 3:7 split of home and away games, and are grateful to both Richmond and Doncaster Knights for helping us reach an understanding about hosting us on the weekends when they were due to fly to Jersey." - Mark Morgan, Jersey Reds Chairman.

It is likely that games will be played behind closed doors initially, with work ongoing to stream matches online for supporters to watch.

Speaking to the Jersey Reds website, the chairman says he's hopeful of having fans attending the home matches if government guidance allows.

"We would love to think we might be able to have our supporters back at Stade Santander International by the time the Pirates visit us at the end of May,’ he added. “We won’t be able to confirm that for some time, but it’s a nice prospect as long as the recovery from the pandemic continues."

Harvey Biljon's side haven't played a Championship fixture since Saturday 29 February 2020.

The full fixture list can be seen here.

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