Jersey and Guernsey join forces for historic rugby match

Guernsey and Jersey's rugby clubs will come together for the first time to form a joint Channel Island team in May.

Players from Guernsey Raiders and Jersey RFC will play Sweden's national team in a one-off game at Footes Lane in Guernsey on Saturday, 17 May.

The two sides are traditional rivals and face each other annually for the Siam Cup - one of the oldest rugby trophies in the world - and the game will be played a fortnight after the Siam.

"What we want to look to do is we want to be selecting a squad that's slightly different to what we normally do, and to do that we need the help from Jersey as well, and vice-versa," Guernsey director of rugby Jordan Reynolds said.

"I think it creates a different appeal to some of the normal rugby that we probably see, and to take on these international teams we've got to be picking from the very best of both islands.

"I think it gives us a great opportunity to launch into further things in the future, and I think it could be a fantastic venture."

It is not the first time a Channel Island team has played an international nation - Jersey Reds beat Russia 35-22 in a warm-up game for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Moscow.

The game comes less than two years after the professional side, who were the reigning champions of England's second tier Championship, folded after financial problems.

It left amateur side Jersey RFC, who were promoted to the fifth tier of the English league pyramid last season, as the island's main side, while Raiders play in the fourth tier National League 2 East.

"Guernsey were the driver behind it, they've come up with the idea, so credit to them," Jersey head of rugby Myles Landick said.

"There is that rivalry around the Siam Cup, but then after that it's about coming together and setting rivalries aside.

"Hopefully we can come together and create a good game."

Discussions are still to take place about how selection will work and what colour kit the sides will wear.

Jersey traditionally play in red and Guernsey in green.

Guernsey's coaching team are likely to take the lead on match day, with Jersey players coming to the island in the week before the match for training and team building.

Jersey's side still boasts a number of players who were professionals with the Reds before the club folded but have stayed on the island.

They will face a Sweden side that are 31st in the world and won the 2022 Champions Rugby Europe Conference 1 North title.

"It really shows how far the relationship between the two clubs has come in recent years," Guernsey vice-chairman Chris Gnapp added.

"We have a really positive working relationship with Jersey and certainly look forward to building that.

"That's not to take away from the rivalry that the teams have on Siam day, and never should it, we want that to continue and get even more fearsome.

"The way the two committees are interacting has shown a real mindset change over the last few years.

"Just the fact that we can collaborate on something like this now is really the result of that."