Harvey Biljon: Jersey Reds boss hopes island government will approve Championship campaign

Jersey Reds' last match was against eventual Championship winners Newcastle at on February 29 last year

Jersey Reds director of rugby Harvey Biljon is hopeful the island's government will approve his side's participation in the Championship.

They are due to play just three home games in the 11-match season, which has been shortened due to Covid-19.

Jersey will travel to and from away fixtures on specially chartered flights and be bussed straight to grounds.

"Although we want to play, we want to make sure we do everything right," Biljon told BBC Radio Jersey.

"The players and the staff have been making sure they're really strict with all the measures that are in place and just want to make sure we get this right.

"It's hugely important for us to get the season under way, but we've got to make sure it's the right thing to do."

The island prohibited all outdoor sport late last year as well as closing all non-essential shops and limiting gatherings to a maximum of 10 people following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

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Jersey do not play a home game until 24 April having agreed with Doncaster and Richmond to switch games scheduled to be played on the island to their opponents' home grounds.

But Biljon is confident that his squad - which is the only professional sports team in the Channel Islands - has adequate measures in place to ensure they do not bring any infection back to Jersey.

"We know the teams we're playing against will be under testing regimes too, with two PCR tests a week, so hopefully we're going into a safe environment, playing the game and coming straight back," he said.

"The RFU (Rugby Football Union) have put together some really stringent protocols and we're very confident that we can follow them.

"We've seen it happen in Premiership rugby, in the last two or three weeks there's not been a positive in the Premiership and it seems to be working, so let's hope we can follow suit."