Jersey Reds’ recruitment drive ahead of the 2022/23 season is close to completion as the club announces five more signings
The Reds will start their pre-season preparations shortly ahead of a trio of friendly matches later in the summer, including Gallagher Premiership opponents London Irish and Bath, and the start of the Greene King IPA Championship campaign on September 10th.
The following four permanent signings have been confirmed:
* Toby Venner (24, pictured above), a scrum-half who played his first senior rugby with Hartpury University and has been with Gloucester Rugby over the past two seasons, making Premiership appearances for both Gloucester and on loan at Bristol Bears
* Jonny Law (21), a scrum-half and former England under-19 cap who has been with Leicester Tigers since 2016
* Russell Bennett (23), a fly-half who was part of the London Irish Academy squad before attending Cardiff Metropolitan University; he subsequently joined Championship side Ampthill and also spent time on loan with Wasps
* Alex McHenry (24), a centre who spent six years with his native Irish region of Munster, also playing for Cork Constitution, Ireland u20 and Ireland 7s during this time.
A season-long loan deal has also been agreed with Gloucester for back row player Josh Gray, a 20-year-old who has been part of the set-up at Kingsholm for several years having played junior rugby for Salisbury, Cirencester and Longlevens. He also represented England at under-18 and under-20 levels.
The new signings join a list of 24 players from the 2021/22 squad who will be retained, alongside 10 new signings already announced.
Commenting on this week’s recruitment, Director of Rugby Harvey Biljon said:
“It’s exciting to have our squad moreorless confirmed, with just one or two possible additions over the rest of the summer, and along with the rest of the coaching and back-room team I’m looking forward to seeing the boys in action when they report for pre-season.
“We have an exciting mix for the campaign ahead, with a sound core of players coming back from last season and some new additions who have the potential to strengthen us further and set the base for a good season.”
