| Rugby union in Jersey | |
|---|---|
 Les Quennevais Rugby Club | |
| Country | Jersey |
| Governing body | Rugby Football Union |
| National team | Jersey |
| First played | late 19th century |
| Clubs | 8 |
Rugby union is a popularsport in Jersey.
Rugby union is played in Jersey under the auspices of the Jersey Rugby Association (JRA), which is affiliated to theHampshire Rugby Football Union but is not a member of theRugby Football Union of England. As such, it has no national team of its own, and is not affiliated toWorld Rugby in its own right. For this reason, it has no WR ranking.
Due to its proximity toEngland and the major rugby nation ofFrance, Jersey rugby is amongst the oldest in the world, dating back to the mid 19th century. Most schools play the sport, especially the private ones.
There are several rugby union clubs in the island including a rugby academy for under-18s that includes more than 600 players as of April 2012[1] andLes Quennevais Rugby Club.
Jersey Reds[2] are a Jersey rugby club that enjoyed a meteoric rise through the English pyramid from 2005, when they were playing in London South West Division 3 (now known asLondon 2 South West), to 2012. They earnedpromotion at the end of that season, and then starting in 2007–08 earned four more in five seasons. The most recent promotion, at the end of the 2011–12 season, placed them in the second-tierRFU Championship,[1] where they have played until the team folded in 2023.[3][4]
TheSiam Cup is an annualRugby Union competition held betweenJersey Reds andGuernsey RFC. It was first contested in 1920.[5] The trophy awarded its winner is the second oldest rugby honour contested after theCalcutta Cup.[6] Following the folding of Jersey Reds, they were replaced by the amateur sideJersey RFC in the annual competition.
Like many small islands, Jersey has a population problem. The main sport isfootball, and the national population is just over 90,000.
As yet, Jersey has not fielded a national team. In 2025 a combined Jersey and Guernsey rugby team, dubbed "Channel Islands XV" debuted in a friendly fixture againstSweden, ranked 31st in the world at the time.[7]
The Jersey Rugby Association (JRA) League[8] features the following teams:
Jersey has no television of its own but does have its own radio station. However, British and French television can both be received on the island, and often include extensive rugby coverage - such as theRugby World Cup andSix Nations Championship. The ITV variantChannel Television sometimes includes rugby news.
BBC Radio Jersey has live commentary of every Jersey Rugby Club home game as well as live inserts from every away game.
liquidation was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).