Jersey Reds v Richmond Saturday 3rd December 2022, 3:00pm

Chairman’s Welcome

After a three-match hiatus for the Championship Cup, league rugby returns this weekend.

We are delighted to once again welcome representatives of that fine old club, Richmond F.C.. We hope their players, player support group, officials and supporters enjoy their short winter break here on our beautiful island.

Richmond have had a tough start to their league campaign winning just two of their seven games. They have beaten both Bedford and Hartpury, but have also manged to pick-up 6 bonus points proving they are rarely out of the mix.

The Reds have put in by far their best ever start to a Championship season. They have a very positive record of seven from seven. However, dropping two bonus points along the way leave them currently in second place behind a very strong Ealing squad.

We have four big games in December including against fourth place Bedford Blues at home on 17th December followed by leaders Ealing away on the 24th. Where will we all be sitting come Christmas time?

Meanwhile let’s enjoy the Richmond game.

Come on you Reds!

Today's Opposition

It’s two decades since the Reds first locked horns with Richmond, and the two sides have built a strong and friendly rivalry over the past 20 years.

In 2002/03, Richmond were champions of London 3 South-West (level 7), defeating Jersey 3-32 at St Peter and 30-13 at the Richmond Athletic Ground as part of a run of 83 successive league wins.

Richmond were on their way back up the league pyramid after the professional arm of the club was placed into administration in March 1999, with the club having a year out of the league system before re-entry in Surrey One in September 2000.

After five promotions during the ‘noughties’, Richmond were once again paired with the Reds in 2010/11. This time it was Jersey who were to gain promotion at season’s end, from National Two South – honours between the two sides finished even, with Jersey winning 29-9 at St Peter having lost 25-14 in south-west London.

The Reds reached the Championship in 2012, and four years later ‘Mond’ had also got to the second tier, where they have competed for six of the last seven seasons. Relegation took place in 2019, but within 12 months Richmond were back at level two after winning Nat 1 in the season interrupted by Covid.

Last season Richmond matched their best finish at this level in recent times, ranking ninth at the end of the season after winning seven and drawing one of their 20 games. The campaign included league doubles over London Scottish (a.k.a. ‘the tenants’), Bedford and Nottingham.

Richmond and the Reds have met nine times in the Championship, with the Reds winning seven of the encounters and also taking the honours in two Championship Cup games. At the end of October last year, the visitors from Jersey made an impressive start at the RAG, with Wes White crossing in the fourth minute, and led 0-19 at the break; but it was a far closer affair after that, with Richmond closing the gap to just two points on the hour mark before the Reds claimed a fourth try and eventually won 20-26.

In the return fixture in January of this year, the Reds held a narrow 12-10 lead on the hour, but a strong last quarter brought a final score of 29-13. Try-scorers for the home side were Will Brown (2), Tim Grey, James Mitchell and Eoghan Clarke, while Jared Cardew and Jake Cardew crossed for the visitors.

The 2022/23 season began with a valiant defeat in Cornwall as Richmond went down 21-14 to the Pirates, but then brought disappointment on home turf when newly-promoted Caldy won 32-34. Richmond won two of the seven league fixtures prior to the November cup window: a 19-15 victory at the RAG over Hartpury, and a stunning comeback – also at home – against Bedford in Round 7, when Mond scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to win 36-33.