The 40th match for JRFC since the Island’s amateur side gained a place in the RFU league system is shaping up as one of the more significant in the club’s history.
The men in red will head to the home ground of old rivals Winchester looking for a win that would seal a second successive promotion and ensure fifth-tier rugby would be played at CoinShares Park next season.
It’s unlikely to be easy against a club who have been a regular thorn in the JRFC side over almost 50 years, and who came close to derailing a 20-match unbeaten run in the final round of Hampshire 1 last March. Both sides were promoted to Regional 2 South Central at season’s end, and once again occupy the top two places in the table .
The rivals have both suffered slip-ups in recent weeks. JRFC were defeated at home by Guildford at the end of January, but bounced back with substantial wins away to Salisbury and at home to London Irish Wild Geese during February. Winchester’s wobble was more recent: a 15-12 reverse at Newbury in their most recent outing two weeks ago.
Landick’s Lines and team news
Head Coach Myles Landick would have been unlikely to want to ring the changes after a dominant display against London Irish, and he gets his way for the trip to North Walls Park.
Tom Tilstone is the only new face in the 18-man squad, coming in for Jerry Sexton (who is unavailable) to join Euan Spencer in the second row.
The boss acknowledged that this wasn’t a normal week for the squad and that players and coaches were embracing the challenge of what lay ahead on Saturday.
“There’s genuine excitement among the group – having 33 at training on Tuesday was a reflection of that,” he said. “They know promotion is on the line if we can get a win, but they also know what happened against Guildford a few weeks ago, so that should keep their feet on the ground.
“The guys who put on a performance against London Irish deserve to keep their places, so it’s good to be able to be almost unchanged.”
Landick was also aware that motivated opponents will be running out on their home turf a few minutes before 3pm on Saturday.
He added: “If a team was coming to us with a chance of winning the league on our ground, we’d want to beat them, and I expect that to apply with Winchester.
“They’ll have their home support behind them, but we’ve got a larger than usual group heading across and quite a few supporters travelling independently, so it should be a great occasion.”
JRFC (15-9, 1-8): Scott Van Breda; Sam Harvey, Dom Mayo, Nathan Rogers, Bevan Biggs; Aaron Penberthy, Max Harrington; Joe Ridgway, Jack Macfarlane, Tom Wilson, Euan Spencer, Tom Tilstone, Evan Whitson (capt), Tim Corson, George Willmott. Replacements: George Thomas, Nathan Thomas, Jacques De La Bat.
Previous encounters – last 18 months
November 11th, 2023: JRFC 47 Winchester 25 (R2 SC). A fast start by the home side brought five first-half tries courtesy of Messrs Wilson, Rogers, Van Breda, Spencer and Macfarlane, plus four Aaron Penberthy conversions. A 33-5 half-time lead was stretched as ‘SVB’ and ‘Diesel’ added second tries, although the visitors finished with real bite to score three more tries and claim a bonus point.
March 11th, 2023: JRFC 23 Winchester 13 (Hants 1). A close encounter between the top two finished with a win for the champions-elect, but also a small feather in their visitors’ cap having been the only side all season to prevent a JRFC bonus point being added to the league table. Nathan Rogers scored a try, and there was also a penalty try and 11 points from the boot of Penberthy.
October 8th, 2022: Winchester 17 JRFC 39 (Hants 1). The fifth round of the season saw a clash between two unbeaten sides at North Walls Park. The visitors prevailed, scoring a penalty try and five other tries through Stocks, Mayo, Spencer and a Willmott brace.
Previous encounters – Back in the day
The two clubs’ paths crossed once in the noughties when they were both in London 3 SW in 2004/05. The men in red won both their games en route to a perfect P20/W20 season: 32-22 at home and 25-19 away.
Previously there were many encounters in league, merit table and Hampshire Cup games stretching back several decades further. An exhaustive list would be challenging to produce in limited available time, but county stats stalwart Richard Isaacs has helped in this regard.
The two clubs were in the same division for four seasons running after the start of league rugby in 1987, and in their fourth-ever league match in autumn 1987 JRFC claimed a 13-0 home win over Winchester in L3SW. With just one match-up per season in those days – rather than home-and-away – the next meeting was a season later, and a 13-0 win on home turf for Winchester.
Both clubs went down to Hampshire 1 for two seasons after that before Winchester won the league in 90/91.
The clubs met up again in 96/97 in L3SW, when Winchester again finished top and were promoted, while JRFC were seventh.
Two of JRFC’s four Hampshire Cup final appearances have been against Winchester. In March 1976 Winchester won 7-0 (as mentioned in the extract below from their website), while 22 years later the mainland side won again, this time by 18-0.
Winchester RFC
The Club was founded in 1929 by 17 enthusiasts who used to meet in the Cart & Horses in Kings Worthy, before games against local rivals. The club colours were decided by simply buying the only shirts stocked in the local shop – they were black and amber then and still are, albeit enhanced by sponsorship logos these days.
The first ‘ground' was a field rented from a farmer in Kings Worthy, which sufficed until 1971 when the present 10-acre ground was purchased from Winchester City Council for the sum of £18,000 (this would buy an allotment in Winchester today). The site was not without its problems, being a former city dump, but many years of painstaking effort by the members has resulted in three superb playing fields and a clubhouse which is the envy of many of our opponents.
The 1970s was a very successful era culminating in the Hampshire Cup win against Jersey in 1976. The playing membership grew significantly during this period allowing the formation of 2nd, 3rd and even 4th teams, as well as a Colts team fed by local schools.
The 80s saw a period of consolidation with the 1st XV's fortunes fluctuating between promotion to London SW3 and relegation to Hampshire One. By the mid 90s, a number of members decided that it was time to put Winchester on the rugby map. Supported financially by local entrepreneur Ashley Levett (who went on to take Richmond into the Premiership), the 1st XV started to gain success and then promotion, which took them from Hampshire One to London Division One in four short years. During the same period, Winchester reached two semi-finals and two finals of the Hampshire Cup, winning it outright in 1998 and 1999. In fact 1999 could be seen as the pinnacle so far with the elusive League and Cup double.
Parish Notices
By the time the big game in Winchester kicks off, JRFC Women will have finished their penultimate home league game of the season: East Grinstead will be the visitors to CoinShares Park for a game that kicks off at 12.30pm.
There had been hopes that a league title and promotion might be achievable for our ladies this weekend, but a win for nearest rivals Seaford last Sunday means nothing can be mathematically decided quite yet.
After a spell of enforced downtime forced by the vagaries of the fixture list and travel logistics, JRFC Women will finish the season with a home game against Beckenham on Saturday 6th, their final league fixture at Sutton and Epsom a week later and then, hot off the press, a pre-Siam home friendly on Saturday April 20th when Midlands side Silhillians will be the visitors.
On their return from Winchester, the men’s side will prepare for a friendly match against Caldy 2nd XV, who achieved a notable win on their previous visit to the Island last April. The team from the Wirral (the peninsula lying between Liverpool and North Wales) have a long unbeaten run stretching around 90 games, so it should be a competitive friendly.
The men’s season at CoinShares Park then concludes with Newbury Blues visiting us on Saturday March, and another friendly when Chinnor will visit on Saturday April 20th (yes – a double-header with the women’s XV!).
There are lunches scheduled for all home games, except March 2nd, so book early to secure your spots by emailing events@jrfc.je
The Siam Cup is on the horizon, with kick-off times now fixed for four games in Guernsey on Saturday May 4th: Vets at 10.15am, 2nds at 11.45am, Women at 1.45pm and Men at 4.15pm.
Fixture info is available via the ‘Teams’ tabs on our website, jerseyrfc.rfu.club
Salisbury match report: jerseyrfc.rfu.club/match/1062453/jersey-rfc-vs-london-irish-wild-geese/
The men in red will head to the home ground of old rivals Winchester looking for a win that would seal a second successive promotion and ensure fifth-tier rugby would be played at CoinShares Park next season.
It’s unlikely to be easy against a club who have been a regular thorn in the JRFC side over almost 50 years, and who came close to derailing a 20-match unbeaten run in the final round of Hampshire 1 last March. Both sides were promoted to Regional 2 South Central at season’s end, and once again occupy the top two places in the table .
The rivals have both suffered slip-ups in recent weeks. JRFC were defeated at home by Guildford at the end of January, but bounced back with substantial wins away to Salisbury and at home to London Irish Wild Geese during February. Winchester’s wobble was more recent: a 15-12 reverse at Newbury in their most recent outing two weeks ago.
Landick’s Lines and team news
Head Coach Myles Landick would have been unlikely to want to ring the changes after a dominant display against London Irish, and he gets his way for the trip to North Walls Park.
Tom Tilstone is the only new face in the 18-man squad, coming in for Jerry Sexton (who is unavailable) to join Euan Spencer in the second row.
The boss acknowledged that this wasn’t a normal week for the squad and that players and coaches were embracing the challenge of what lay ahead on Saturday.
“There’s genuine excitement among the group – having 33 at training on Tuesday was a reflection of that,” he said. “They know promotion is on the line if we can get a win, but they also know what happened against Guildford a few weeks ago, so that should keep their feet on the ground.
“The guys who put on a performance against London Irish deserve to keep their places, so it’s good to be able to be almost unchanged.”
Landick was also aware that motivated opponents will be running out on their home turf a few minutes before 3pm on Saturday.
He added: “If a team was coming to us with a chance of winning the league on our ground, we’d want to beat them, and I expect that to apply with Winchester.
“They’ll have their home support behind them, but we’ve got a larger than usual group heading across and quite a few supporters travelling independently, so it should be a great occasion.”
JRFC (15-9, 1-8): Scott Van Breda; Sam Harvey, Dom Mayo, Nathan Rogers, Bevan Biggs; Aaron Penberthy, Max Harrington; Joe Ridgway, Jack Macfarlane, Tom Wilson, Euan Spencer, Tom Tilstone, Evan Whitson (capt), Tim Corson, George Willmott. Replacements: George Thomas, Nathan Thomas, Jacques De La Bat.
Previous encounters – last 18 months
November 11th, 2023: JRFC 47 Winchester 25 (R2 SC). A fast start by the home side brought five first-half tries courtesy of Messrs Wilson, Rogers, Van Breda, Spencer and Macfarlane, plus four Aaron Penberthy conversions. A 33-5 half-time lead was stretched as ‘SVB’ and ‘Diesel’ added second tries, although the visitors finished with real bite to score three more tries and claim a bonus point.
March 11th, 2023: JRFC 23 Winchester 13 (Hants 1). A close encounter between the top two finished with a win for the champions-elect, but also a small feather in their visitors’ cap having been the only side all season to prevent a JRFC bonus point being added to the league table. Nathan Rogers scored a try, and there was also a penalty try and 11 points from the boot of Penberthy.
October 8th, 2022: Winchester 17 JRFC 39 (Hants 1). The fifth round of the season saw a clash between two unbeaten sides at North Walls Park. The visitors prevailed, scoring a penalty try and five other tries through Stocks, Mayo, Spencer and a Willmott brace.
Previous encounters – Back in the day
The two clubs’ paths crossed once in the noughties when they were both in London 3 SW in 2004/05. The men in red won both their games en route to a perfect P20/W20 season: 32-22 at home and 25-19 away.
Previously there were many encounters in league, merit table and Hampshire Cup games stretching back several decades further. An exhaustive list would be challenging to produce in limited available time, but county stats stalwart Richard Isaacs has helped in this regard.
The two clubs were in the same division for four seasons running after the start of league rugby in 1987, and in their fourth-ever league match in autumn 1987 JRFC claimed a 13-0 home win over Winchester in L3SW. With just one match-up per season in those days – rather than home-and-away – the next meeting was a season later, and a 13-0 win on home turf for Winchester.
Both clubs went down to Hampshire 1 for two seasons after that before Winchester won the league in 90/91.
The clubs met up again in 96/97 in L3SW, when Winchester again finished top and were promoted, while JRFC were seventh.
Two of JRFC’s four Hampshire Cup final appearances have been against Winchester. In March 1976 Winchester won 7-0 (as mentioned in the extract below from their website), while 22 years later the mainland side won again, this time by 18-0.
Winchester RFC
The Club was founded in 1929 by 17 enthusiasts who used to meet in the Cart & Horses in Kings Worthy, before games against local rivals. The club colours were decided by simply buying the only shirts stocked in the local shop – they were black and amber then and still are, albeit enhanced by sponsorship logos these days.
The first ‘ground' was a field rented from a farmer in Kings Worthy, which sufficed until 1971 when the present 10-acre ground was purchased from Winchester City Council for the sum of £18,000 (this would buy an allotment in Winchester today). The site was not without its problems, being a former city dump, but many years of painstaking effort by the members has resulted in three superb playing fields and a clubhouse which is the envy of many of our opponents.
The 1970s was a very successful era culminating in the Hampshire Cup win against Jersey in 1976. The playing membership grew significantly during this period allowing the formation of 2nd, 3rd and even 4th teams, as well as a Colts team fed by local schools.
The 80s saw a period of consolidation with the 1st XV's fortunes fluctuating between promotion to London SW3 and relegation to Hampshire One. By the mid 90s, a number of members decided that it was time to put Winchester on the rugby map. Supported financially by local entrepreneur Ashley Levett (who went on to take Richmond into the Premiership), the 1st XV started to gain success and then promotion, which took them from Hampshire One to London Division One in four short years. During the same period, Winchester reached two semi-finals and two finals of the Hampshire Cup, winning it outright in 1998 and 1999. In fact 1999 could be seen as the pinnacle so far with the elusive League and Cup double.
Parish Notices
By the time the big game in Winchester kicks off, JRFC Women will have finished their penultimate home league game of the season: East Grinstead will be the visitors to CoinShares Park for a game that kicks off at 12.30pm.
There had been hopes that a league title and promotion might be achievable for our ladies this weekend, but a win for nearest rivals Seaford last Sunday means nothing can be mathematically decided quite yet.
After a spell of enforced downtime forced by the vagaries of the fixture list and travel logistics, JRFC Women will finish the season with a home game against Beckenham on Saturday 6th, their final league fixture at Sutton and Epsom a week later and then, hot off the press, a pre-Siam home friendly on Saturday April 20th when Midlands side Silhillians will be the visitors.
On their return from Winchester, the men’s side will prepare for a friendly match against Caldy 2nd XV, who achieved a notable win on their previous visit to the Island last April. The team from the Wirral (the peninsula lying between Liverpool and North Wales) have a long unbeaten run stretching around 90 games, so it should be a competitive friendly.
The men’s season at CoinShares Park then concludes with Newbury Blues visiting us on Saturday March, and another friendly when Chinnor will visit on Saturday April 20th (yes – a double-header with the women’s XV!).
There are lunches scheduled for all home games, except March 2nd, so book early to secure your spots by emailing events@jrfc.je
The Siam Cup is on the horizon, with kick-off times now fixed for four games in Guernsey on Saturday May 4th: Vets at 10.15am, 2nds at 11.45am, Women at 1.45pm and Men at 4.15pm.
Fixture info is available via the ‘Teams’ tabs on our website, jerseyrfc.rfu.club
Salisbury match report: jerseyrfc.rfu.club/match/1062453/jersey-rfc-vs-london-irish-wild-geese/
