Jersey Boys

We find out how the Channel Islanders managed to upset the odds and win the Championship...

- JOSH GRAHAM

ANYONE FOR a feel-good story? Amid the doom and gloom of arguably the worst English rugby season ever, with Wasps and Worcester going to the wall, there is a glimmer of hope located 85 miles south of the mainland.

Jersey Reds made history at the end of April with the first Championship title in the club’s history. A 43-15 victory at home to Ampthill on the final day of the season sparked the celebrations.

The hammer blow came a week earlier, though, when Jersey held off the might of reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders to win 19-13 at Stade Santander International in a decisive clash between the league’s top teams.

And it’s not just the Jersey fans who can revel in the uplifting tale of the unfancied Reds, who had never finished higher than fourth, climbing to the top. Everyone can get behind an underdog.

Nine years ago, in his first season as director of rugby, Harvey Biljon kept Jersey in the division with a last-day win over Bedford. The South African, himself a former Wasps scrum-half, knows more than most it was time for good news.

“There was a fair bit of emotion at the final whistle,” Biljon tells Rugby World. “It’s been something else, I mean it’s a great positive rugby story at the moment when you see what’s going on in Jersey from a rugby perspective.

“It has been building over time, getting the Lions to train here, England coming to train and the Premiership teams all coming out for pre-season fixtures. All of the excitement is just so unreal.”

Sounds good, right? But we must address the elephant in the room. A glance down the rugby pyramid and every other league winner is toasting their title and promotion. Not Jersey.