Supporters Info: Jersey Reds v London Irish
Greene King IPA Championship
Saturday March 25th, 2017
We anticipate a large contingent of London Irish fans this weekend. We hope your visit to our club will be part of a really enjoyable Jersey tour - here's some information to assist you, which we trust will make your trip go as smoothly as possible.
FRIDAY NIGHT
The club is open on Friday evenings before all league games. A good chance to meet some 'native' supporters, engage in some pre-match banter, have a 'recce' of the ground, visit the club shop and pick up your tickets for the game the next day. The Barclays Pavilion will be open between 5.30 and 7.30pm, the 'Jersey Pride' ale will be tapped and Sean Dunne the Club Manager will be providing free nibbles. The adjacent supporters marquee will also be available this Friday if capacity in the 'Pav' is reached.
MATCH TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased online in advance via the Eventbrite site - these cost £20 for adult non-members. There is a student concession rate of £7 on production of the appropriate ID. We regret there's no senior citizen concession. Tickets will also be available on match-day. Please arrive in good time to purchase your tickets (if necessary) and gain entry to the ground.
There is very limited seating available at St Peter; our small stand is fully occupied, but there are some blocks of open 'bleacher' seating available on a first-come-first-served basis. If you have a particular mobility problem and will have difficulty standing, please call the club office on 01534 499929 to discuss.
TIMETABLE FOR PRE-MATCH
12noon: gates open and first food drink outlets begin serving. The Pavilion Bar adjacent to the Clubhouse will be open to all supporters from 12noon, offering full bar, including 'Jersey Pride' on handpump, plus food such as 'special of the day', 'posh dogs', pasties, burgers etc. The small supporters marquee in the corner of the ground also has a bar. Other mobile units around the ground, opening around two hours prior to kick-off, will be serving food and drink, the Jersey Pride Bar (selling the ale of the same name) at the west/ airport end of the ground and the Ashworth & Bird Bar (adjacent to the scoreboard) selling canned beers, hot drinks, soft drinks and snacks.
1pm: additional bar in the large marquee opens. Club shop (next to the clubhouse) opens (until 5pm)
3pm: kick-off for Jersey Reds v London Irish
4.45pm: final whistle
MATCH PROGRAMME
The Jersey Reds' match programme features a range of articles, player profiles, statistics and analysis. Programmes will be available on Friday evening (subject to delivery in time) and on match-day, priced £2.
POST-MATCH
The Clubhouse is hosting a pre-match lunch that is fully-subscribed, but will be open to all spectators after the match and we will only restrict admission if we've reached capacity. The bars in the marquee and Pavilion will also remain open after the final whistle.
The large marquee will be open post-match, with Guinness bars, bowls of Irish stew and live music between 5 and 7pm. The music will pause temporarily at around 5.45pm, when we'll have the Head Coaches from each team and selected players for a short Q&A session about the match and presentation of awards.
TRANSPORT
For those flying in/out on the day, the ground is less than 10 minutes walk from the airport.
If you are coming from St Helier we'd recommend Liberty Bus who have two services serving the rugby club (the fare is £2). The No 9 to/from St Helier stops outside the ground or catch the #15 to the Airport and get off at the penultimate stop, The Mermaid, from where it's a 5-minute walk. The #15 service will have greater capacity as these services run every 15 minutes, using double-decker vehicles, and also serve St Aubin. Return bus times will be posted at the main gate on the day of the match or you can visit www.libertybus.je . Stop-press: there's a third option which is route #22 - this goes via a fairly direct route, but only once an hour and up to 7pm.
A taxi to/from the ground from/to town (St Helier) will be around £15. Getting a taxi booking after the match can be challenging! If you have a car, there is free parking available close to the ground; traffic can be busy, so please allow lots of time. (If you'd like a car for your next visit to Jersey, you should invest £20 in buying a ticket for our end-of-season raffle - they'll be on sale - where an Audi A1 Sport is up for grabs, plus cash prizes of £3,000, 2 X £1,000 and 2 X £500).
CARD PAYMENTS/ATMs
There are no cash machines at St Peter, and minimal options to pay by card - this is only possible at some tills in the Clubhouse, but not in the marquees, Pavilion or other outlets around the ground. So we'd recommend bringing a reasonable supply of cash with you to the ground. Surplus Jersey currency can be easily exchanged at the Jersey Post counter in the airport departures lounge (just before security) or at UK banks.
NEWS ABOUT THE GAME
The Jersey Evening Post has a match preview in Friday's edition (on sale from 12.30pm), with more rugby in Saturday's edition (on sale from 7am), followed by a write-up on Monday. There is full match commentary on BBC Radio Jersey. A preview will be posted on Jersey's website www.jrfc.je , with team news on Friday at 12noon and the latest news is on Twitter - twitter.com/jerseyrfc or Facebook.
MOBILE PHONES
There has been feedback from some visiting supporters who have received large phone bills on their return from the Island because the small-print on their tariffs didn't include Jersey, leading to higher charges, especially for data if you are roaming. Visitors are advised to check out their phone contract in advance, or use devices sparingly or with the roaming function disabled. There is wi-fi available at the ground - passwords will be on display.
TOURIST INFO
We'd recommend visiting www.jersey.com which is packed with info about where to stay and what else (besides rugby) to do while you are here. If you're considering visiting a particular tourist attraction, it's worth giving the Tourism Office a call to check the opening times of your intended destination - many venues aren't open 365 days a year. The number is (01534) 448800 and the opening hours are 9am to 5.30pm (Monday to Friday) and 9am to 1pm at weekends. Jersey has a fine range of shops, especially in St Helier, but most large stores are not open on Sundays.
Finally, we hope you have an enjoyable trip to Jersey and look forward to your company.
Jersey Reds
