Jersey RFC Captain takes coaching role

Thursday 21 April 2016

Alex Rae will swap the captain’s armband for the role of Forwards Coach at the end of the season.

Rae, who has played for JRFC since the summer of 2013, will play his last game for the reds when Yorkshire Carnegie visit this weekend before replacing Steve Boden in the coaching role.

Jersey look set for a fifth-placed league finish in the Greene King IPA Championship when the season comes to a close this weekend, an improvement on the seventh-place that they won last year.

A single point would secure fifth spot for the reds – but if they were to get nothing out of the match and London Welsh beat Doncaster, they would slip down to sixth.

Rae was described as “the outstanding candidate” for the Forwards Coach job by JRFC Chairman Bill Dempsey, and the appointment has also been welcomed by Head Coach Harvey Biljon.

Biljon said: “Alex's leadership skills have been a great asset to the club over the past three seasons, and will leave him well-placed to make the transition to coaching.

“He's spent seven years in the Championship and knows the division inside out, and I know he'll be working really hard from the word go.”

The news comes during a week in which JRFC have announced that 15 players will leave the squad this summer – the list of departures includes Ed Dawson and Jack Burroughs, which means that at present, JRFC will have no Jersey-born players in the squad for next season.

Rae has spent the last two seasons coaching Jersey’s Under-15s and Colts squads, and said that he was delighted to be taking up the new role.

He said: “I'm really chuffed and honoured to have been given this role.

“I've had ambitions to eventually coach when my playing days were over, and although the chance has come sooner than expected, it's a fantastic opportunity for me.

“I've got big shoes to fill in succeeding Steve Boden - he's taught me a lot and leaves the club in a good place, although there'll be pressure to maintain and improve the club's status after the last two seasons.

“Harvey and I have worked really well together - I know what he's about and his ambitions and I think we'll make a good team.”

Earlier this week, Biljon said that the number of departures from the squad was higher than he had hoped for, but said some were not in the club’s plans, some had agreed moves to other clubs, and some had left due to family reasons or personal circumstances.

The full list of departures is: Russell Anderson, Jack Burroughs, Mark Cooke, Ed Dawson, Ollie Evans, Ben Featherstone, Martin Garcia-Veiga, Danny Herriott, Sam Lockwood, Dave Markham, Mark McCrea, Jack Moates, Rhys Owen, Nacho Lancuba and Tommy Spinks.