London Scottish have advised Jersey RFC that the forthcoming
Greene King IPA Championship match at the Richmond Athletic Ground
(RAG) will take place on the evening of Friday November 14th (KO
7.45pm).
The fixture has been switched from the Saturday evening slot
originally earmarked for the game and published on the London
Scottish website earlier this month. This is due to the Autumn
International matches taking place that weekend and the
cancellation of a private function.
London Scottish CEO Kenny Baillie explained that London Scottish
do not own the RAG ground (pictured above) but rent it
from the Richmond Athletic Association (RAA).
"The RAA initially told us we could not play on Friday, November
14th - always our preferred date due to the internationals
involving both England and Scotland the following day - as they had
taken another booking. So we moved to Saturday, November
15th," he said. "They then advised that their third party
booking had now been cancelled and that Friday was once again
available. This has all been outside the control of London
Scottish."
Jersey Chairman Bill Dempsey added: "We are aware that a number
of our supporters have made arrangements to travel to London for
the 5.30pm kick-off on Saturday, and that they will have to revise
their plans. I'm disappointed on their behalf. Having said that,
the home side has the prerogative to arrange fixtures in the slot
they prefer, and London Scottish have done this ahead of the RFU
deadline of July 31st, at which point all matches must be
finalised."
As a result of the switch, it has been agreed that any Jersey
supporters who had previously made travel arrangements and will
incur costs in changing their itineraries will be given
complimentary stand seat tickets (normally priced at £20) for the
match on production of evidence of their travel arrangements.
Details of how to obtain these tickets will be available in the
coming weeks.
Bill Dempsey added: "We are very appreciative of the excellent
levels of support for the club, both home and away. I hope that
those who are planning to come over to support us at London
Scottish will be able to adjust their arrangements - there is a
cracking weekend's rugby in prospect."
