The Siam Cup is an annual
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
competition held between the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
clubs of
Jersey Reds
Jersey Reds is a rugby club based in Jersey, Channel Islands that currently competes at the RFU Championship, which is the second tier of English professional rugby.
Until season 2022/23, the professional arm of Jersey Reds was part of Jers ...
and
Guernsey. It was first contested in 1920. The trophy is the second oldest rugby trophy in the world to be contested after the
Calcutta Cup
The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...
.
Trophy
The trophy is a large circular rose-bowl made from coinage of
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
ticals and required the permission of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Rama VI
Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...
to melt the coins down. The King not only permitted it, he had the trophy created within the
Royal Crown Silversmith.
It is beautifully decorated in traditional Siamese style, with figures of dancing girls and elephant heads. It stands on an ebony base and is engraved with the cup winner's names, dating as far back as 1920.
The Cup was brought to the Channel Islands by Lieut-Colonel C H Forty, an officer based in Siam with the Durham Light Infantry. A fellow officer in his regiment was the son of the King of Siam. He was befriended by Forty and his fellow officers, and on eventually becoming King he presented the cup to Forty and his fellow officers as a token of their friendship.
Forty donated the cup to the islands to be played for annually between Victoria College in Jersey and Elizabeth College in Guernsey (These are the CI equivalents to UK Public Schools). When rugby was no longer played by the two colleges it was decided that the cup should be contested between the two island rugby clubs each season, thus began the annual 'battle' for the Siam Cup.
During the
German occupation of the Channel Islands by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the Germans wanted it to be sent to their homeland to be melted down and used as funds to support the Third Reich. Strangely enough the cup 'disappeared' and was not rediscovered until after the end of the occupation. To this day, there is no record of the whereabouts of the cup during this period.
By the 1970s the trophy started to deteriorate from age and a replica was commissioned. The original was handed to the
Rugby Football Union in 1977 where it is placed on display at the
World Rugby Museum at
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Competition
The competition has been contested annually since 1920, each island hosting it every other year. The only breaks in competition were due to the Second World War.
Previously there had been no restrictions as to who could play in the Siam Cup. Following Jersey's rise through the English leagues and turning professional it was argued that it made the competition unfair. In 2016, it was declared that Jersey could only select players for the Siam Cup if they had been on the island for three years, Guernsey would be unaffected by the change. Equivalent competitions are held at academy, women's and veterans level. Previously there had been no restrictions as to who could play in the Siam Cup. Following Jersey's rise through the English leagues to Level 2 and turning professional it was argued that it made the competition unfair. In 2016, it was declared that Jersey could only select players for the Siam Cup if they had been on the island for three years, Guernsey, playing in a league at Level 5, would be unaffected by the change.
The rivalry is fierce, leading to fights that have spilled into off field scuffles. In 2010 a Jersey player was allegedly assaulted by two Guernsey players in apparent reprisal for an assault on a Guernsey player by drunk Jersey players after a Siam Cup game.
The centenary edition of the cup, due for 2020, was eventually played in November 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and was narrowly won by Jersey 14-13. It was still referred to as the 2020 competition as both clubs played the 2021 staging of the event in May 2022 a week before the 2022 date.
As of the 2020 competition, Jersey had won 62 times, with Guernsey winning 16. There has only ever been one draw.
References
{{Guernsey topics , state=collapsed
Rugby union cup competitions
Rugby union in Jersey
Rugby union in Guernsey
Recurring sporting events established in 1920
Rugby union international rivalry trophies