https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-12570075/Last-seasons-Championship-winners-Jersey-Reds-set-enter-administration-English-rugbys-financial-crisis-continues-three-Premiership-clubs-folded-season.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-12570075/Last-seasons-Championship-winners-Jersey-Reds-set-enter-administration-English-rugbys-financial-crisis-continues-three-Premiership-clubs-folded-season.html

Gutted for everyone involved.

Good Luck

I hope they manage to keep playing.

There would be a knock on effect well beyond the club if it folds.

I like most other fans, have already booked our flights and hotels - and while we may be a drop in the ocean of Jersey's tourism, it all adds up.

From the Reds web site

Jersey Reds regret to confirm that the club ceased trading at 5.30pm on Wednesday September 27th and is exploring the way forward. However, liquidation appears inevitable unless a solution can be found in the very short term.

The professional side made the move amid a continuing backdrop of uncertainty about the future of English rugby’s second tier, having competed in the RFU Championship for the past 11 years and won the league last season.

The decision came with an admission that the club would be unable to pay September salaries due this week, and would not be travelling to south-west England to fulfil the scheduled Friday night cup fixture against Cornish Pirates.

Reds Chairman Mark Morgan said he was devastated that the move had to be made, but that it had become clear on Wednesday that there was no alternative.

“We had been able to start the season and maintain sufficient funds to cover the summer, but regret that our conversations with potential new investors as well as existing ones have been unsuccessful,” he said. “At one stage at the end of last season it appeared there was a viable way forward for the second tier once the new Professional Game Agreement was implemented from summer 2024, but Championship clubs have been left in the dark since that point and this led to a growing fatigue among those who may have invested, but could not be given any concrete assurance about when the new structure would come in, or how it would be funded.”

Tier two clubs have faced mounting financial challenges since the RFU first advised of major funding cuts in early 2020, prior to the onset of Covid-19. The pandemic then brought further cuts, with the challenging landscape for Championship clubs now having lasted for almost four years.

Mr Morgan said this week’s developments vindicated the 2022 move, supported by club members at an Extraordinary General Meeting, to separate the professional arm of the club from the amateur Jersey Rugby Football Club in order to safeguard the future of amateur rugby in Jersey.

The financial difficulties resulted in an even more difficult situation than the position encountered in November 2016, when cumulative losses made it necessary to raise £1.5million through a sale-and-leaseback agreement covering the club’s assets.

Other details covering the implications of this news have yet to be finalised, but are expected to emerge in the coming days and weeks.

Here's hoping that this is also a short term issue and that they manage to recover from it. The wording on the club statement does not sound optimistic though. My thoughts are with their people, whichever part of the club.

A big blow for clubs due to have home games against them - no doubt CP will take a big hit with our game tomorrow night being cancelled at such short notice.

I have booked 5 days with my wife in Jersey for the Caldy fixture. We will still be going because we loved our time on the island earlier this year but I will miss the huge conviviality of our time with Islander and Brizzer and all at Jersey RFC.

From what I have read liquidation appears to be inevitable and there is a good reason for this. Rugby is not a sensible business/financial  investment, it is only emotion, community and the generosity of benefactors that keeps it afloat. 

Sadly I am sure there will be more casualties appearing during the course of this season.

I am so sorry for everyone involved and affected at Jersey......despite getting hammered we loved our two matches against them last season.

I hope some resolution can be found.

I went last season as it was a bucket list thing for me and I’m very glad I did. I had a lovely time and even though we usually inevitably got destroyed by Jersey I will be sorry to see them go. 

The club is good enough for England to hold week long training camps at

The club is good enough for the RFU to put money ( it was £100's k) into to improve the facilities, so its good enough for England to hold training camps at.

If its good enough for that, why were they not allowed to take a position the Prem? having won the Champ last year. 

If they take that rightful position, they have 5k crowds in the winter with the likes of Bath, Northampton, Leicester etc. coming to the Island mid winter. It brings a massive tourist trade to the Island

The sponsors then stay, there is an end game, there is an income for many people on the Island that will throw money at the club by being a sponsor. They get a decent deal with Radidasson as the sole hotel to be used by travelling teams, they get the backing of the Island Government and tourism department, because of the footfall they bring through the arrivals lounge and the big part of the GDP the club will be to the Island. But by shutting off this route and not letting Jersey take their rightful (and Ill say that again because it is a fact) position in the Prem the RFU have as good as said "that's it for you, you're not one of our chosen clubs, we will cut off the blood supply and see how long it takes you to die"

This is a total different story to Wasps and Worcester.. this is a club that has been directly let down by the RFU.. 

Wrong very very wrong...

Rugby is in crisis but there is little leadership from the RFU.........the Championship clubs have no idea where they are headed......there maybe further casualties 

Is this a result in the massive cut in funding from the RFU or the uncertainty of the structure of the Championship going forward. Investors like certainty.

Probably the second - the uncertainty of the structure affecting investment. 

No club should be going under because of the RFU's cut in funding really (much as I disagree with it) - that just means writing cheques that you know you can't honour if something doesn't turn up. Clubs that get relegated from the Championship (and hence lose all the funding overnight) mostly don't implode, for example. Even the clubs that got relegated when it was £500k a year.

Gutted for Jersey and their supporters.

I have been an investor in businesses for the last 20 years. In order to invest among other things I need to understand:

- the macro view of the market the business is in

- the businesses position in that market and its realistic prospects

- whether the business will be or is likely to be financially self sufficient after my investment 

- the ability and experience of the management team and in particular its CEO

- the return I am likely to get on my investment and the exit strategy for me to realise my investment

I couldn't answer any of the above positively as far as rugby is concerned. As far as I am concerned Rugby is not suitable for investment 

For this to happen so early in the season is particularly worrying for all of the Championship and I share the general contempt of the RFU for its utter incompetence in running the business it is there to protect and promote.

All this said, nobody has asked the question or raised the point of Jersey's own liability in putting together such a competitive squad (inc coaching staff) when the home gate is around 1000-1500 (please correct me if I am wrong on this estimate. How did they envisage that their wage bill would be covered?

This is a desperately sad day for English rugby.

Good question Greg

Are you sure Eddie ??

http://cornish-pirates.com/rugby/jersey-reds-cup-fixture-cancelled/" rel="nofollow - https://cornish-pirates.com/rugby/jersey-reds-cup-fixture-cancelled/

My worry is that Jersey went into the season with a business plan that essentially says "A miracle happens here"

They needed extra investment to pay the first month's salary.

They obviously thought they had a backer willing to put in money - but unless the ink is dry and yo have seen the money - it is a gamble.

This is the second season in three that Cambridge will lose a home game due to a club collapsing in the weeks before the league season starts.

Pirates will not be able to cancel the staffing, suppers for tomorrow, so lose that and the gate money.

Hopefully, teams will be able to get their travel spend for Jersey back. If they can that might just compensate for the loss of a home game.

A lot of supporters will not.

What was the RFU doing?

Like I said, first and foremost all rugby fans will rue the loss of a team like Jersey Reds, but when the dust begins to settle, questions need to be asked, and other full time Champ clubs ought to be considering their own financial positions moving forward.

Was still showing when I looked 30 minutes ago but glad that it has been clarified

Nail hit very firmly on the head there. 

Sums up the RFU’s approach. Shameful behaviour. 

Interesting to read the BBC article on this, says

"Reds split from Jersey RFC in 2022 and went on to win the league and reach the Championship Cup final in May.".

It’s simple. As others have said, there is no plan for the Championship emanating from the RFU. Hence meaningful investment, other than pure philanthropy, is impossible to secure.

I fully agree that the RFU has no credible plan for the Championship and are frankly, negligent but, that is not a licence for Championship Clubs to act irresponsibly with regard to their finances.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66946536" rel="nofollow - Link

... 'We've not overspent' Jersey are the fourth professional side to go bust in the past year as financial problems continue to dog the sport after the Covid-19 pandemic. Worcester and Wasps both went into liquidation early into last season while London Irish went under in June - all three have not played a game since. The islanders had started the season well - thrashing London Scottish in their opening cup game before a historic win at Bath, and then losing at home to Exeter on Saturday. "Right now I'm just shocked," Jersey Reds director of rugby Harvey Biljon told BBC Channel Islands. "We have categorically stayed in our lane, we've not overspent, we have worked within budget. "We don't pay extortionate wages, the average [yearly] wage across our playing squad is £25,000, so I'm just absolutely shocked that we're champions of the Championship and we're in this situation." Reds had seen funding from Jersey's government come to an end this year - between 2019 and 2022 the club received £575,000 from taxpayers. The government had planned to stop their funding, with the 2023 government plan published last year making no mention of the club, with the 2024 plan - which came out last week - also not showing any financial support. "The previous government provided extensive financial support to the club, and Jersey Reds also enjoyed significant support during Covid," said Lucy Stephenson, the Jersey minister with responsibility for port, in a statement. "With the welfare of players, coaches and their families in mind, in the last three months this government has twice given Jersey Reds short-term grants totalling £370,000 to provide them with the opportunity to try to find alternative funding sources. Sadly, their efforts have not been successful. "Government could not commit further money at a time when there so many other demands on the public purse - including responding to the cost of living crisis - and in fairness to other sports and businesses in the island. "The Reds' announcement shows how prudent it was for them to separate the professional and amateur arms of rugby. Participation in amateur rugby remains strong, and the minis, juniors, and parts of JRFC will continue to thrive. Government will work to ensure that any impact on the amateur game is minimised." ...

Camqui's point and the points made by others are valid. 

However for those running the company behind Jersey Reds it is a very tough business/financial call. It maybe that the existing investors and possibly potential new investors were holding out the promise of further funding depending on the outcome of talks with the RFU, the financial windfall of the game against Exeter Chiefs etc.

For a sports business the decision and timing of when to pull the plug is almost certainly binary. In other businesses that market to other businesses you may be able to reduce costs in stages with redundancies and other cost cutting measures and still retain operational effectiveness and potentially your client base.

When your customers are the public and your major costs are a squad of players and coaches it would be very difficult to incrementally scale back......This will all be a hindsight test for the liquidator but I suspect that Jersey's board of directors would have considered the position prior to the start of the season and probably had a financial plan which although perhaps dependent on further investment was considered to be reasonable with a likely prospect of the further investment (probably based on talks with existing investors).

If you pull the plug too early you could be viewed as destroying a viable business and impacting creditors/staff and shareholders..........pull the plug too late and you will be accused of not acting soon enough. It is a horrible dilemma and most boards will be advised by experienced professionals to assist in making such a decision.

I have been in the above position a number of times and thankfully was always on the right side of the decision but some were spectacularly close calls with either trade sales or further investment (which had being worked on for many months) being finally secured at a few minutes to midnight. 

It is a very difficult position to be in and requires very close monitoring of all the facts on a daily basis to determine when the realistic prospect of being able to continue to trade has evaporated. Some times this can be quite a few months ahead of actually running out of cash but often because of the realistic prospect of a trade sale or further investment, (which has likely been worked on for months) it runs right up to the wire and sometimes it only falls over at the final hurdle when the buyer or investor gets cold feet.

I have also been in situations where directors with no equity interest in the business have turned turtle at the first whiff of financial difficulty and have pushed for Administration at way too early a juncture before the options to salvage the business have been properly explored. 

In both these cases the businesses were saved through a combination of a solvent transaction and an improvement in trading through the extremely hard work and tireless efforts of the other directors and the staff and employees. 

It is always very difficult for all involved and I would never judge any business in this situation until I knew all the facts which are usually uncovered by the Administrator/Liquidator and set out in their reports.

The RFU has been informed that Jersey Reds has taken the decision to cease trading following unsuccessful discussions with both existing and potential new investors. We, like their players, staff and supporters are deeply concerned by this news.  The RFU is working with the Rugby Players Association to support the players.   It is extremely disappointing that investors would take decisions at this early point in the season to place the club in such a position. Championship clubs had clear confirmation from the RFU on funding for the 2023/24 season and we have been working with the Championship and Premiership Rugby on the new Professional Game Partnership and shape of Premiership 2 with funding levels to be confirmed at the end of this calendar year. The Championship has been fully involved in these discussions since February which are aimed at stabilising and strengthening the professional game.   This news will clearly impact the season for the Championship league and Premiership Rugby Cup competition, which was introduced this season as a way to offer a new format to supporters, bringing with it the experience of playing Premiership sides and the opportunity to welcome new fans into Championship clubs and assist them to grow new audiences.    Further information on the impact of this to the Premiership Rugby Cup and Championship League season will follow.

I didn't mention players salaries being the issue alone but I can imagine that trying to maintain a certain level of success on the field by offering incentives you cannot meet is 'paying over the odds'.

- after 3 Premiership clubs have folded and now one Championship club and 

- the RFU is forecast by some commentators to make £ gazillions of losses over the next few years

the prospects of fresh investment into rugby is rapidly diminishing from a position where it was unlikely to now a position where its is probably vanishingly small. There is no clear blueprint that says this is how you make a financial return from an investment in club rugby........but there are now an increasing number of case studies that say this is how you can lose all your money by investing in club rugby.

This could result in other financially struggling professional rugby clubs (which could be most of them) pulling the plug earlier than they may otherwise have done so as one of the defences against directors being accused of 'wrongfully trading' (and thus opening up the directors to personal liability) of having a realistic prospect of fresh investment will be more difficult to credibly advance.

The financial climate doesn't look good for professional rugby in England

Oops pressed something too soon.  It hasn't from the very start Eddie

The RFU seem to be signalling that Jersey's insolvency is down to their existing investors..........does the RFU know the full circumstances before they have leapt to this judgement?

I very much doubt that was the case it being very much more likely that the existing investors declined to put more money in....and why should they if they do not believe there is any clarity on how they could possibly get a return or get their money back.

The RFU have just added another reason for not investing in rugby.......the opprobrium from the governing body if the club fails.......I found that shocking and distasteful and unlikely to encourage other investors.

I have often taken the RFU to task for ineptitude and their almost total focus on the elite game. However, although I believe they have mismanaged the rugby landscape they can only be peripherally at fault in Jersey's woe's so I wouldn't lay the fault for Jersey's insolvency directly at the RFU's door. 

There are a number of very high net worth investors in Premiership clubs that must wish they had never invested in rugby and would love to walk away rather than continuously pump funds into a market place and business model that shows absolutely no signs of ever generating a return.

I would reckon that some of these VHNWIs would probably love to cut their losses and walk away from their dire investments with perhaps no money but perhaps some dignity intact. Today's pronouncement by the RFU castigating Jersey's investors may just have given these Premiership VHNWIs the excuse they need to walk away and halt their continual multi million £ leakage!

Sweeney and his head man and woman £1.5 million in salary

What on earth do they do to earn that. England international teams cost £21 million. Most people would pull on an England jersey for pride alone 

Same old story the rich get richer and the poor get poorer 

Look at the clubs who are thriving and doing well. 

Clubs with M&J players, Women's teams, 2XV/3XV teams.

1 team clubs are struggling. 

Clubs need income every month just not during the rugby season. Private functions etc keep clubs going. 

You can not be reliant on the RFU and blaming them for Jersey/other clubs  going bust. Clubs need to be self sufficient especially below Premiership. 

I feel for the players who have been put in this situation especially as the season has started and clubs may have budgets etc sorted. 

https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/club-statement-5/" rel="nofollow - https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/club-statement-5/

Jersey Reds players risk being "stranded" on the island after the Championship club ceased trading. Players were told early on Thursday morning that the club was closing down after an investor pulled out, leaving Reds unable to meet the payroll due on Friday. Up to 70 players, coaches and support staff have been affected. "The timing of it is terrible," director of rugby Harvey Biljon told BBC Channel Islands. "It's the end of the month, so they won't get paid in the next couple of days, and I can assure you some of these guys won't even have the funds to book a flight to get on to the mainland or get home. "Those are some of the guys who are from Australia or South Africa, they'll be stranded." Jersey's squad, who won the Championship title last season, had been due to board a flight at 08:00 BST on Thursday morning to take them to their Premiership Rugby Cup game at Cornish Pirates on Saturday. Instead, the players were called to the club's ground at St Peter at 07:30 and given the news they were out of jobs. "It's destroying for everyone and their families as well," centre Dan Barnes told BBC Channel Islands. "It doesn't just affect us as players, it affects the whole network, families. "They've got kids, rent to pay, bills to pay, and one day before getting paid to be told that an investor has pulled out doesn't make sense to us. "At seven o'clock this morning I was a rugby player for Jersey Reds with a job; at 10 o'clock, now I'm not."

I agree with a lot of what you say. Those clubs you describe as thriving are of course those at National League level and below. The professional game in this country is a basket case and has been for years.

The "thriving" clubs are of course thriving despite and not because of the RFU who have all but abandoned them by cutting funding and leaving them in a state of perpetual uncertainty about the league structure they play in. 

Mr Sweeney and his mates have proved themselves totally unfit for purpose for years now and it's pointless expecting them to be of any help whatsoever to the professional game.

The solution? I honestly don't think there is one for professional rugby in this country. As hard as it will be for the clubs and their supporters the best hope in my opinion is for the whole professional structure to implode and then for us to start again building a properly sustainable structure but that would require an enormous dose of realism and there seems very little sign of that at the moment.

We have waved goodbye to Wasps, Worcester and London Irish and now saying farewell to Jersey. Who next? Bristol, Exeter, Quins, Leicester? Take your pick they and many others are just one withdrawing sugar daddy/investor from oblivion.  

They won the Champ last year 

They should be at the top table 

They should be receiving the funding that the other Prem sides get whilst plying their rugby in the Prem 

It’s sport, you win the league you gain promotion and the rewards that come with it 

Not …sorry your not on our list…you cannot come in 

The RFU might as well make a list of who are and are not acceptable 

I would hate to think what they would do with Exeter under todays so call rules 

A lot of truths there L33. 

However there is some indirect culpability at the RFU's door because they are complicit with the PRL regarding what is essentially a cartel which has not allowed the winners of the Championship to obtain access to the Premiership and the funding that is provided by the RFU.

Your points are also valid in respect of the Premiership which all would probably be bust if the RFU withdrew the funding that they subsidise the Premiership clubs with.

The anger and hostility generally directed at the senior management of the RFU stems mostly from the inequitable distribution of RFU funding. To be honest I don't know what the solution is but I do know that Professional rugby in England is in big big trouble!

The Directors are culpable having previously had to sell all their assets to pay off debts of £1.5m

So their business model was obviously not sustainable.

The RFU are culpable as their governance is poor to non existent and they have failed to provide a workable league structure . ..  which is still in flux and Championship clubs have no idea what next season looks like.

I feel desperately sorry for all staff and supporters and all suppliers . . I expect other clubs to follow.

However, this also paves the way for the RFU to bring back Wasps into the Championship!!! 

All a farce and the sooner Sweeney and OShea leave the better . . the RFU needs a radical shake up!

Gutted to say the least although Administration is not necessarily the end of the Reds. 

I hope that something can be negotiated with the creditors to return the Reds to something that looks like normal operations, even if this means going down a division.

Looking from the outside in I do feel for the Stewards of the Reds when you’re biggest stakeholder (RFU) seems to have little interest in the Championship. You cant attract investors and as we know, no one invests in rugby as there’s no money in it, so you ultimately become a benefactor, who may have pulled the rug out from under the Reds, only time will tell. If I recall the only Union that made any money during COVID was the IRFU:

https://www.irishrugby.ie/2022/11/11/irfu-announces-operating-surplus-of-e5-9-million-for-year-ended-31st-july-2022/amp/" rel="nofollow - https://www.irishrugby.ie/2022/11/11/irfu-announces-operating-surplus-of-e5-9-million-for-year-ended-31st-july-2022/amp/

A solution that could potentially solve English rugby’s issues but I dont think so, not while the Premiership is tied to private equity and the return’s demanded by current interest rates.

As a Jersey Reds fan, far away from home I wish the players and staff all the best during this difficult time.

What are you gona do with your weekends now Carrot?

From the report...

This is how French rugby operates isn't it?

I mean lots of state support.

Exactly, particularly in terms of the funding of stadia and associated infrastructure. And why not???

Hope the players can find new clubs, I know Blues in the past have taken on a couple after a club has gone. Ealing should take on Bijon as their DoR or head coach, best thing they could do!

Apologies the detail is the link at the bottom of the article and it is a lot to digest. (A non chartered accountant journalist I suppose!:

Come on Jersey Reds. Turn it over! 

As I said earlier the RFU accounts show a transfer of £95 million to Reserves at June 2022. .Can’t see the English government saying we need to bung them a grant

Agree, my club’s Sponsorship Manager constantly makes the point that sponsorships are effectively donations. Investment for a commercial return cannot succeed in rugby. 

This is a tragedy for the players, a massive disappointment for the supporters and a real worry for the future of professional sport, not just rugby, in England.

hetimes.co.uk/article/england-rugby-cant-afford-its-own-team-but-the-rfu-certainly-knows-how-to-pay-its-boss-wngv8pj60#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20Bill%20Sweeney%2C%20the,per%20cent%20to%20£668%2C000.

So true. Cornwall Council have been woeful in their lack of support for the building of the new stadium which would have given CP a great chance of progressing and forming a sustainable plan for the future.

The latest blow was, when everyone was confident of government levelling up money being the final piece in the jigsaw, the Leader of the council decided arbitrarily that no funding would go towards the stadium.

I know Carmarthenshire Council gave Llanelli/ Scarlets a good deal on the new stadium there.

Broadly speaking these are similar rugby areas, aren't they?

...that's not how local government financial management works

Wakefield Council have constantly dug Wakefield Trinity out of financial holes. 

https://www.wakefieldfirst.com/news/article/6860/wakefield-team-secures-8.8m-funding-for-stadium-revamp/#:~:text=%C2%A38.8m%20to%20redevelop,Highways%20Committee%20in%20December%202021" rel="nofollow - https://www.wakefieldfirst.com/news/article/6860/wakefield-team-secures-8.8m-funding-for-stadium-revamp/#:~:text=%C2%A38.8m%20to%20redevelop,Highways%20Committee%20in%20December%202021 .

contribute towards paying for a stadium that would still not satisfy the criteria for premiership rugby?

Not the case. Cornwall Council had promised a small contribution in exchange for the stadium being a community facility and this was complied with. All the hurdles put up were duly jumped. The council contribution would follow the promised government funding. To be fair the government provided levelling up money for "ready to build projects". All the plans were in place and the new stadium would have the ability to expand to 10,000 seats when needed. The government money came through and it was then that, out of the blue, Council Leader Linda Taylor decided it wouldn't be allocated and would be spent elsewhere as the Truro area was receiving too much. 

Recently The Hall for Cornwall, in Truro, was refurbed.

"The theatre closed in June 2018 for what was supposed to be a two-year refurbishment costing more than £20m. It has cost £26m and taken three years to complete, partly longer than planned because of the coronavirus pandemic." Of this nearly £6m came from Cornwall Council.

The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) says changes must be made to the way rugby union is run after the collapse of Championship holders Jersey Reds. The club announced on Thursday that it was to cease trading. They are the fourth professional club to go bust in the past 12 months. "This is again a failing of the current rugby ecosystem and why we are pushing so hard for changes to be made to governance of the professional game," general secretary Christian Day said. The RPA says it is helping to support Jersey's players as they come to terms with the club's demise. Reds had needed £370,000 of money from Jersey's government to tide them over in the summer as they looked for new investment. But when a planned new investor pulled out - with the club citing uncertainty over the future of the second tier - they had no choice but to cease trading. "Players and staff have been left with their lives turned upside down overnight," added Day. "These are talented people trying to forge their way in life, dependant on the club to pay their wages that they have earned and deserve. It is unacceptable that this has again happened with no prior notice to players. "It is clear that there must be a better support system in place for all elite players which must be rectified as a key part of any new funding agreement." 'Our level of funding isn't adequate' Former Jersey Reds player and coach Alex Rae is now head coach at Coventry, who were due to travel to Jersey in the opening round of the Championship next month. He says the Rugby Football Union (RFU) must support second-tier clubs in England, having cut their funding drastically after the Covid-19 pandemic. "Our level of funding isn't adequate from the RFU," he told BBC Radio Jersey. "Since Covid it was around £650,000 and that dropped to £160,000, and we're one of the only professional sports where after Covid it hasn't been reinstated to that level. We've stayed the same, which puts a massive stress on clubs. "Coventry are very well supported - we had 4,000 at the Saracens game and are averaging well over 2,000 - everyone's got a different model, but the RFU funding needs to change. "There needs to be a clearer picture of how funding looks, how the game looks going forward, because that helps attract sponsors and investors and that clearly isn't happening at the minute."

Well it happened in Cornwall. Mind you, Cornwall Council and financial management don't fit in the same sentence.

Some players are scratching around for money to pay for flights so that they can get home as they’ll have no where to live.

Seems like the Stewards of the club knew this was coming and didn’t deliver any warning.

Very disappointing to say the least.

Seriously though there will be a long audit trail of documents ending up in a committee decision and and stack of undocumented arm twisting

That's what the Freedom of Information Act is for.

However it's a sad indightment of back corridor work.

The killer is the Premiership cartel who obstructed them going up (despite them losing 3 of their own) and insistance of that MSC (which if Ealing had the bottle to go through with their lawsuit, might have helped stop this) that was the nail in the coffin. I am very disappointed to hear about the Championship Champions going under.

It kind of makes it either good fortune (or good foresight) for them having done a London Welsh and spun off their amateur team as a legally separate club to safeguard the future of league rugby in Jersey. That is most important in my view that they do protect the continuation of the sport in the Bailiwick. 

Well said that man

https://bedfordrugby.co.uk/news/2023/09/message-chairman" rel="nofollow - https://bedfordrugby.co.uk/news/2023/09/message-chairman

If we don’t fill the gap we now have a huge gap in the season between home games! 3 Feb to 23 Mar, wonder if some have longer.

As I said earlier, this is the second time in three seasons Cambridge have had this - and I forgot that it also applies to Caldy.

In both cases, the club claimed it had a new sponsor lined up, but pen was never put to paper.

I played in a sponsored shirt that the sponsor never paid for.

The player who had sorted that had managed to get the sack before the sponsor paid up...

It does beg the question as to what is stipulated on their contracts re support, compensation, redundancy package (highly unlikley) and what they are entitled to should their club fold essentially overnight through no fault of the player/employee? 

Many businesses (and Jersey Reds are/were a business) have unions, federations, informed representatives to fight the corner of the employee and ensure fair treatment in the wake of redundancy. Is it the case that professional rugby players go into this line of work knowing that they could be out of a job at the drop of a hat, with no subsequent support or legal obligation on the part of the business (rugby club) to provide for their now ex-employees' welfare and financial stability?

The Rugby Players' Association is the player union.

Their statement on the jersey situation is here:

https://therpa.co.uk/news/2023/9/rpa-statement-jersey-reds/" rel="nofollow - https://therpa.co.uk/news/2023/9/rpa-statement-jersey-reds/

https://www.ruck.co.uk/maro-itojes-staggering-wage-demands-would-make-him-englands-highest-paid-player/" rel="nofollow - https://www.ruck.co.uk/maro-itojes-staggering-wage-demands-would-make-him-englands-highest-paid-player/

 Makes you wonder.