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Saving a sporting tradition
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It would, therefore, be reasonable to assume that when Jersey beat Guernsey by exactly that margin at the weekend in this year’s Siam Cup rugby inter-insular our home team vastly out outclassed the visitors in skill, athletic prowess, strategy and tactics.
It can, however, be argued that that was only part of the story. There can be no doubt that the steady rise and rise of the Jersey side as a force in national competition has led to an imbalance, but their technical ability and sheer strength are matched in importance by other factors.
The Jersey Rugby Club has evolved into a community club – with all that means in terms of fiercely loyal support and performances that reward that loyalty – and its first XV is very much an Island side rather than one that turns out simply to defend club honour.
That said, players and officials here and in Guernsey are right to be concerned that a gulf is opening that is in danger of making future Siam encounters boring displays of one team’s manifest superiority. Although Guernsey have had their share of success in the recent past, there are structural reasons why they now appear to be unable to compete with Jersey’s high level of professionalism.
It would be true to say that rugby is a more marginal sport in football-obsessed Guernsey than it is in Jersey, which has taken the game very much to its heart. It is also true to say that our rugby club is now superbly resourced – to the extent that it can bolster its home-grown talent with paid players from outside the Island.
Quite rightly, officials from both Islands are meeting to discuss what might be done to level the playing field for future inter-insulars. On the table are issues concerning professional players, players who are drafted in just for the big match, and residency qualifications.
It would be wrong to say that a solution to the present lack of balance will be easy to identify without turning the annual fixture into an artificial and consequently less than thrilling encounter. In spite of this, it should not be beyond the wit of those involved to devise a formula which will mean that future routs are avoided and which allows both Island sides to play the sort of rugby which thrills crowds and keeps inter-community rivalry healthily alive.
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