Location for Jersey v Nottingham game, Saturday Feb
16th 2013
The home club have once again been forced to consider staging
the match on an alternative pitch due to the inordinate amount of
rainfall throughout the winter. After the second-wettest fourth
quarter on record to finish 2012, January rainfall was well above
average and February levels are approaching the monthly average
with still a fortnight remaining.
A provisional pitch inspection this morning (Friday) showed that
the main pitch at St Peter was unlikely to be fit by Saturday
afternoon, so subject to the approval of the match referee, the
intention is to stage the game on an adjacent pitch. The 3pm
kick-off will be unchanged, with sunset not until 5.30pm.
Jersey RFC have liaised closely with the Competitions Department
at the RFU, and opponents Nottingham have also been kept informed
throughout the week. Referee John Meredith is expected to arrive on
the Island early in the afternoon on Friday and will then be able
to inspect all the pitches.
Pitch 2 at St Peter was used for the Jersey v Rotherham game on
January 26th, while pitch 4 staged a National One league match
against Stourbridge last February when the main arena was frozen;
both games accommodated crowds of around 2,000. Arrangements are
being made to ensure the approaches to these pitches are safe and
dry, with barriers and other necessary crowd control measures put
in place.
Jersey have appealed for volunteers to help with preparations
throughout Friday and on Saturday morning. Wear sensible footwear
and bring a garden fork if you have one.
Any updates will be posted on the jrfc.je website and twitter.com/jerseyrfc as well as being issued to
the media.
