The rival Channel Island sides of Jersey Reds and Guernsey Raiders will stage their annual battle for one of rugby's oldest trophies this weekend.
The Siam Cup, sponsored by Ipes, forms the climax to the season and the action will include four matches as the 1st, 2nd, Women's and Veterans' teams battle it out for bragging rights over the old enemy.
Head Coach for the Siam Cup, Myles Landick, has confirmed his squad for the main Siam Cup game, which will take place at 3pm. Joel Dudley, one of three professional Jersey players selected, will skipper the side from fly-half. Elsewhere in the squad there are plenty of players with Siam experience, but also eight debutants, including Craig Simeon, reckoned to be among the oldest debutants in a Siam starting XV, at second row and Jersey-born England Students cap Will Kaye at full-back. A total of 12 players in the Siam Cup squad were born anr/or brought up in Jersey.
The 1st XV game will be preceded by the presentation of both sides to the Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, and the National Anthem. After the final whistle, man-of-the-match presentations will be made and then the 'L-G' will present the historic trophy.
Earlier in the day, there will be three other matches:
10.30am: Nash Cup (Veterans), Pitch 1
10.50am: Ladies Siam, Pitch 2
12.30pm: Fallaize Cup (2nd teams), Pitch 1
The Nash and Fallaize trophies will be presented on pitch 1 immediately after the final whistle in each game. Jersey Reds President David Lapidus will present the Nash Cup, with the Fallaize Cup presented by the home club's Chairman of Amateur Rugby Cliff Chipperfield. The Ladies Siam trophy will be presented at half-time of the 1st XV game - around 3.45pm - by Jersey Reds Chairman Mark Morgan.
At 5pm, once the presentations are finished, the Jersey Reds end-of-season raffle will take place, with one lucky ticket-holder set to claim an Audi A1 Sport - there are also five cash prizes. Tickets, priced £20, are still available, and will be on sale on the day, but sales will cease at 2pm so that final preparations for the draw can be completed
Tickets
Advance tickets are available via the Eventbrite website - these cost £10 for non-members, £5 for Jersey members and £2 for students in possession of appropriate student ID. Under 18s will be admitted free
Jersey Reds squads
Ipes Siam Cup - 1st XV
1. Chris Pople
2. Nick Selway
3. Karl Haitana
4. Tom Tilstone
5. Craig Simeon
6. Brian Rennison
7. James Voss
8. Nick Trower
9. Alex Jeffery
10. Joel Dudley (C)
11. Sam Fuller
12. Scott McClurg
13. Donovan Sanders
14. Jack Newton
15. William Kaye
16. David Felton
17. Jacob Carter
18. Euan Spencer
19. Charlie Clyde-Smith
20. Jonathan Glendening
21. Tommy Turner
22. Mark McCrea
Head Coach - Myles Landick
Assistants - Ross Allan / Alex Rae / Bob Shambrook
Physio - Verity Simon / Becky Wood
Fallaize Cup - 2nd XV
1. Richard Vetier
2. Dom Mayo
3. Josh Chamier
4. Nathan Thomas
5. Harrison Berresford
6. Eoghan Nihill
7. Alex Budd
8. Tim Corson
9. Brendan O'Brien
10. Mark Boarer
11. Rupert Lee
12. Wayne Boschat (C)
13. Tom Coutanche
14. Max Whelan
15. James Dempsey
16. Mark Davies
17. George Thomas
18. Tom Seedhouse
19. Jamie Cook
20. Dom Henstridge
Head Coach - Bob Shambrook
Assistants - Andrew Pitcher / Ryan Morgan
Ladies Siam
Coaches: Mark Tampin and Jake Armstrong
Nash Cup - Jersey Wanderers
History of the Siam Cup
According to a family history of the Forty family, the Siam Cup was presented by CH Forty, an officer based in Siam with the Durham Light Infantry, in 1912, however it was not used as a rugby trophy until 1920, and was first contested between Island sides in 1935. Further historical information can be found HERE
The Siam Cup this century
2000: Jersey 54 Guernsey 20. At the time, Jersey's second-highest points tally in Siam history, beaten only by the 69 registered in 1997
2001: Guernsey 12 Jersey 32
2002: Jersey 23 Guernsey 8
2003: Guernsey 0 Jersey 27
2004: Jersey 32 Guernsey 22
2005: Jersey 24 Guernsey 28. A second-successive home game for Jersey due to development work at Footes Lane in Guernsey. International referee Donal Courtney sends off Jersey's Roger Quirk, and sin-bins his colleague Steve O'Brien, in a fiery encounter, and a 74th-minute try by Tom Smit seals the win. The 4-point winning margin is the smallest in any Siam Cup since 1988 (Guernsey 12 Jersey 8) and before that the 3-3 draw in 1978
2006: Guernsey 13 Jersey 38. An easy win for Jersey, and another flurry of cards including a red for Matt Banahan in his second and final (to date) Siam appearance. One of Guernsey's water-boys invades the pitch, a move he quickly comes to regret. Oh, and the whole thing is captured on video and placed on Youtube
2007: Jersey 8 Guernsey 17. A gritty away win for the Sarnians in the lowest-scoring Siam since an 18-3 win for Jersey in 1991
2008: Guernsey 22 Jersey 13. Guernsey lead 10-8 at half-time and 15-13 with minutes to play before sealing the win through a late try
2009: Jersey 34 Guernsey 6. Two Tommy Turner tries help Jersey to an easy win in a game refereed by Luke Pearce, then aged 21, who has since gone on to the Premiership and IRB Sevens circuit
2010: Guernsey 0 Jersey 36. Ashley Maggs gets two tries, altho' Jersey's pack outdoes the backs with tries by Trower, Brownrigg and Kemp
2011: Jersey 73 Guernsey 5. An 11-try rout, with James Copsey and Donovan Sanders both claiming hat-tricks, sparks fears about the future of the Siam
2012: Guernsey 0 Jersey 29. The worst Siam weather in recent memory has an effect on the game, with scoring at one end of the ground virtually impossible all day. Jersey ground out a half-time lead through tries by Guy Thompson (2), Glenn Bryce and a penalty try, and that was also the final score
2013: Jersey 41 Guernsey 8. Jersey say goodbye to a host of players who were either leaving the Island or not graduating to full-time status: Glenn Bryce, Ashley Maggs, Mike Le Bourgeois, Dave McCormack, Brendan O'Brien, Richard Barrington, Nathan Hannay, Graham Bell, Kingsley Lang, Eoghan Nihill and Talite Vaioleti. A certain lack of focus in the early stages leaves Guernsey 0-8 up after half an hour, and even tries by McCormack, Felton and Maggs leave it poised at 17-8 at the break. Just one further try, by Leeds-bound Hannay, happens in the first 30 minutes of the second period, but the home crowd are sent home happy when wingers Dawson and Levesley (2) race over in the final 10 minutes
2014: Guernsey 7 Jersey 38. The visitors scored three tries and 19 points in each half: Nicky Griffiths, Ed Dawson and Mark Foster in the first half, and Joe Buckle, Sam Lockwood and Tom Brown in the second. Dale Rutledge scored a deserved consolation try for the Sarnians
2015: Jersey 48 Guernsey 3. 'Superman' Henry Cavill was in attendance to watch Jersey's Jon Brennan lift the Siam in his last appearance for the Reds. The home side scored eight tries, three of them by winger Ed Dawson in an eight-minute burst in the first half
2016: Guernsey 19 Jersey 33. In the first Siam since an eligibility agreement covering Jersey's professional players was brought in, the home side were ahead 19-18 with just over 10 minutes to play, but the Reds scored a penalty and two late tries to seize the moment and retain the Siam Cup.
Overall tally (based on figures in the 2004 Siam Cup programme): Jersey 60 wins; Guernsey 13 wins; 3 games drawn
Guernsey RFC History
Guernsey Rugby Union Football Club was founded in January 1928. Although there are records of rugby union being played in the Island as far back as the 19th century. The game gave way to soccer until the Guernsey Rugby Club was formed. Initially the club only ran one side and had a membership of 20-30. The club now runs three senior sides, a youth team and a very active junior section.
The first team has competed in the English national leagues since 1987. Guernsey and Jersey were last in the same league when they competed in Hampshire One (Level 9) in 1994/95.
In the Siam-Cup winning season of 2004/05 Guernsey finished second in London 4 SW and were promoted to Level 7, at that stage just one level behind Jersey.
In subsequent seasons the Sarnians became a stronger presence at this level, finishing 10th, 5th, 4th and 7th before taking the runners-up spot in 2009/10, only to lose a play-off at Hove by 17-14.
But in 2010/11 they took the league title by a point from Trojans, thanks to a bonus point in defeat (15-16) on the final day of the season against their Hampshire rivals - their only home loss that season. In 2011/12 the Sarnians lost just three games - at Old Elthamians and Sidcup in September, and against Portsmouth the following month. They then won 18 straight matches, enabling them to win London 1 South at the first time of asking. The Greens finished with 111 points, three ahead of Old Elthamians (who subsequently won the play-off), and a F/A points record of 951/ 317.
Guernsey have now played five seasons National 3 SE - Level 5. In 2012/13 they achieved a solid mid-table finish - 8th with 12 wins out of 26 games, and the following year achieved a three-place improvement. This season they achieved their best-ever finish at this level - fifth place with 15 wins from 26 games.
