A two-year initiative, which will attempt to improve competition standards while fostering genuinely friendly links between Jersey and Guernsey players, coaches and officials, is being backed by CI company Ronez – to the tune of £5,000 for the first season.
The cash will go towards travel costs between the islands.
It is hoped that if successful the initiative will become a permanent feature of the CI rugby calendar.
Planned to start next month the season will feature three squads from the Jersey RFC Academy travelling to Guernsey RFC for combined coaching sessions and mixed-team games, and two similar visits to St Peter by the Sarnian youngsters.
The age groups targetted are the U8 to U12s, and it is hoped to lay the foundations for the following: a healthy and appropriate competitive ethos, which strongly reflects the social aspect of rugby; increased participation through increased joint coaching and match practice; closer partnerships with coaching, refereeing and child protection opportunities being open to both islands; and the sharing of fixture lists and playing opportunities.
Said Jersey Academy official Kevin Le Masney: ‘It’s long been thought that inter-island games are a far from perfect means of developing young players – mainly because of the pressure such fixtures put on competitors.
‘The fierce rivalry between the islands at many sports can often boil over to such an unhealthy extent that the development value of inter-insulars – vital for sports when competition elsewhere is so expensive to achieve – is severely reduced.’
The sessions, for players and coaches of both islands, will be held under the guidance of Jersey RFC’s 1st team coach Barry George, the professional Ashburton development coach.
Mike Osborne, the sponsors’ Jersey-based managing director said: ‘Ronez are delighted to be supporting this venture and we believe this a great way to put a little bit back into both communities.
We have a strong association with rugby, notably through our parent group’s sponsorship of the Leicester Tigers, and we look forward to supporting the fantastic energy among the juniors in Jersey and Guernsey to develop the top players of the future.’
The Jersey Academy, backed by Bedell Group, Dandara and principal sponsor, Moore Management, have had a tremendous year to date, with their U18s winning the Hampshire County Cup for the first time, along with the gaining of the RFU President’s Award for development.
