AN emotional Harvey Biljon struggled to hold back tears of joy after Jersey Reds sealed a historic first ever Championship title for the club.
If there are keys to the Island, the director of rugby, deserves to be given them.
He was appointed in January 2014 and by the end of his first season in charge, a few months later, the club was on the brink of relegation.
But Jersey pulled off a win against Bedford Blues on the last day and Ealing Trailfinders were sent down instead.
Forward wind nine years and it was another Bedfordshire club, Ampthill, that provided the opposition for Jersey’s crowning glory, again, at the expense of Ealing.
‘This is a long journey from when I arrived to where are now,’ said Biljon after Reds’ 43-15 win.
‘We’ve been on a roller coaster and I don’t want to forget all the support we’ve had along the way. From players to coaches to the chairman and the board behind us.
‘And I don’t want to forget this unbelievable crowd.
‘It’s been lots of hard work but I am just so chuffed.’
The scenes at the end after the final whistle below were the like never seen before on the Island. It has been a sensational season for the Reds and one that very few would have predicted at the start: 20 wins from 22 games, 100 points won, 804 scored, just 391 conceded – all aboard the Jersey juggernaut.
‘I’m trying not to let the emotion get the better of me,’ added Biljon with a little water in the eyes.
‘I don’t know what to say.’
The pride, the joy, the ecstasy of this moment, what he has done for the club, what he was done for the Island, right here, right now, there’s nothing more he needed to say either. From everyone else on this Island, who loves sport, he deserves a big thank you too.
