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 ...

in the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a popular

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. Outside the island of Guernsey itself, it is occasionally played in Alderney and

Sark Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of ...

. Sark has its own rugby team, although it regularly has to pick up "guest" players to make up its numbers.

Governing body

Rugby is played in Guernsey under the auspices of the (English) Rugby Football Union.

History

Due to its proximity to the major rugby nations

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 ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Guernsey rugby is among the oldest in the world, dating back to the mid 19th century. A number of schools play the sport, especially the private ones, such as Elizabeth College. Guernsey RFC was founded in 1928 GRUFC
retrieved 29 August 2009 and competes in the English leagues. There is only one other club in Guernsey, St Jacques RFC, which was founded in 1978. From the 2014/15 season St Jacques compete in the Hampshire Rugby Football Union (Hants) Solent Merit league. St Jacques home ground is the King George V (KGV) playing fields. The current coaches are Jon Bell, Rob Box and Peter Mcmachon, the current captain is Brett McFarlane. St Jacques have a squad of around 40 players, with many being recent graduates of the Guernsey Rugby Academy. 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

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 RFC. It was first contested in 1920. The trophy awarded its winner is the second oldest rugby honour 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 ...

. Development of the sport is limited due to the practicalities of small islands; Guernsey's national population is under 80,000. The main sport is

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Broadcast media

Guernsey has no television of its own (the ITV variant

Channel Television ITV Channel Television, previously Channel Television, is a British television station which has served as the ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programme for insertion into the ...

sometimes includes rugby news) but does have its own radio stations. British and French television can both be received in the islands, and often include extensive rugby coverage - such as the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

and Six Nations Championship.

External links

* http://www.grufc.co.uk/
Guernsey Rugby Academy

Guernsey Touch

Guernsey vs Jersey
* http://www.ogier.com/AboutUs/Action/Sport/Pages/GuernseyRugbyAcademy.aspx * http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2009/02/26/rugby-official-swore-but-was-not-disorderly/
BBC's Guernsey Sports page

References

{{Guernsey topics , state=collapsed * Sport in Guernsey Sark

Governing body

History

Broadcast media

See also

External links

References