IMMORTALITY beckons for a Jersey RFC Men’s side who, with victory tomorrow over Wimbledon at CoinShares Park, could seal a historic 22-0 record and their second undefeated league triumph in four seasons.
Captain Evan Whitson and his teammates lost just three league games last season, however this was still not enough to secure them promotion from Regional 1 South Central. This season, they have left nothing to chance.
21 games have come and gone and Myles Landick’s men remain stoic. Even with the league title and promotion secured, the allure of an invincible season has kept the fire burning at the Jersey Rugby Club.
“We had three goals this season,” said Landick, “win the league and get promoted, go unbeaten and win the away Siam and Fallaize Cup. We’ve won the league, we have one more game to achieve the unbeaten record and we will head to Guernsey hopefully with that confidence boost.”
Both JRFC Men’s first and second squads will take the field tomorrow against Wimbledon, as they continue to support their vast senior men’s squad.
One may assume from reading the men’s first team record that this season has been a walk in the park, but for large portions it has been anything but. Even looking back as close as March 28, their last fixture, that unbeaten record was seriously tested in their dramatic 45-43 comeback victory away at Tunbridge Wells.
Skipper Whitson and co have also been pushed hard by the likes of Hammersmith & Fulham [28-21], CS Stags [43-40] and Tunbridge Wells at home [31-29]. However, the constant search for the “perfect performance” has kept standards high in the camp.
Landick knows however that Wimbledon will be no pushover in the season finale.
“This is a side on a real high at the moment,” the Director of Rugby continued. “It’s going to be extremely difficult. Wimbledon coming to us off the back of five straight wins, they’ve had a change of coaching staff, they’re playing with more structure and they’re going to offer us a real challenge.
“But what a way to cap off the season if we can get a win. It would mean a lot to the guys and to everyone involved in the club to secure a little bit of history. There aren’t many seasons where you can say you were unbeaten throughout and if we win tomorrow, we’ll have secured two of those in our last four which is a hell of an achievement.”
Landick was particularly excited to emphasise how proud the club is for the volume of rugby being played however.
“It’s going to be a full on day of rugby, we have Walking Rugby at 10:30am, the second team game after that from 12:30pm and the first team on at 3pm which is just fantastic. Seeing the ground full of players and fans alike is really special and, hopefully, we can make it a massive day of celebration for everybody involved in the club.”
JRFC Squads to face Wimbledon
1st XV: [15-9] Mark Boarer, Bevan Biggs, George Willmott, Dylan Stocks, Fergus Ludlam, Aaron Penberthy, Liam Rhodes; [1-8] Morgan Brady, Jack Macfarlane, Tom Wilson, May Ayling, Cam Keys, Evan Whitson (c), Euan Spencer, Tim Grey. Replacements – Huw Owen, Tom Tilstone, Lance Armstrong
2nd XV: [15-9] Eryk Swiech, Jacques De La Bat, Archie Le Maistre, Nathan Rogers (c), Joe Munns, Lewis Evans, Jonty O’Sullivan; [1-8] Joe Ridgway, Jake Bates, Ben France, Toby Osborne, Nathan Thomas, James Guyatt, Luke Bowles, Tom Ellis. Replacements – Ze Luca Piazza, Quentin Fevrier, James Courtness, Brian Njomba, Jake Vautier, Deepinder Dyal
Hacquoil & Cook agree three-year extension to Jersey RFC sponsorship
If the prospect of an undefeated season wasn’t exciting enough for Jersey RFC, the club have received an extra boost after Hacquoil & Cook have agreed a three-year extension of their sponsorship of the club.
The partnership dates back to 2013 when Hacquoil & Cook first agreed to sponsor the newly-formed Jersey Athletic side. The company’s backing has continued over several seasons, including the return of an amateur JRFC team to the English league system in 2022, and also expanded to shirt sponsorship of Jersey RFC Women.
Speaking on the exciting new deal, Myles Landick continued: “The rugby club’s relationship with Hacquoil & Cook has been a really important feature throughout my time here.
“The value of a partnership like this is that the company has become part of the furniture – each side knows how the other works and that’s been a key feature as JRFC has grown in recent years.”
Dan McAlister, Chairman of Jersey RFC, added: “As the club prepares to go onwards and upwards next season, the support of our sponsors is critical and we are delighted to have Hacquoil & Cook onboard with us until 2029.”
Dom Willmott, Managing Director of Hacquoil & Cook, said: “We are very proud to be associated with Jersey RFC and to be part of the amazing journey they’ve been on and we are excited to see where things go to in the years to come.”
