Jersey Reds have bolstered their coaching team ahead of the 2018/19 season through the recruitment of Ed Robinson.
The 25-year-old, currently Assistant Coach at Rotherham Titans, will move to the Island this summer and work alongside Head Coach Harvey Biljon and Assistant Coach Neil Tunnah. Robinson's focus will be primarily on the Reds' backs and attacking play, with Tunnah specialising in coaching the forwards and defensive skills.
Son of former England Head Coach Andy, Robinson attended Prior Park College in Bath and his first rugby experience in Jersey was as a touring player with the school side in 2008 and 2009. He went to Loughborough University in 2011 but his playing career was cut short during his second year owing to a complex concussion injury. He had already started coaching as this point however, and continued this with junior club Oldfield RFC in Bath after graduating from Loughborough in 2014.
In the past three seasons Robinson's career has progressed rapidly, coaching at National Two South club Clifton RFC as well as within the Academy pathway for young players at Bristol Rugby. In January of this year he joined the coaching team at Rotherham, a role he'll leave after this weekend's final round of Greene King IPA Championship fixtures.
Jersey Reds Chairman Mark Morgan said:
"We're excited that Ed will be part of our team by the time the players return for pre-season training in June. The success of our work in developing rugby talent in Jersey has been shown with the numbers of players moving to top-flight clubs in the past two seasons, and recruiting Ed is a real boost to that work. Not only will we have a 50% increase in our coaching team and the amount of time coaches can spend working hands-on with the players, but we'll be helping a young coach to take the next step in his development."
This season's Jersey Reds squad will play their final game this Saturday when they make the trip to Yorkshire to take on Doncaster Knights, looking to finish the season on a high after the disappointment of a last-gasp defeat in last weekend's British & Irish Cup semi-final against Leinster 'A'.
