The Siam Cup

The Siam Cup is one of the oldest Rugby Trophies in existence with an interesting and chequered history. It is the annual challenge trophy between Jersey Rugby Football Club and Guernsey Rugby Football Club and is played in alternate islands each year, normally at the end of the season.

It was during the German Occupation of the islands that the Cup was at its greatest risk because the Germans wanted it to be returned to their homeland to be melted down and used as funds to support the Third Reich. Strangely enough the Cup ’disappeared’ and was not rediscovered until after the end of the Occupation. To this day nobody admits to knowing the whereabouts of the Cup during this period.

The actual Siam Cup is a large circular rose-bowl made from Siamese (Thai) silver. It is beautifully decorated in traditional Siamese style, with figures of dancing girls and elephant heads. It stands on an ebony base and is engraved with the cup winner’s names, dating as far back as 1920.

Results to date are 52 wins for Jersey, 15 wins for Guernsey and one draw; Jersey the holders at present (as of 2009). One can throw the form book out of the window for this game; it is raw local derby rugby with no quarter given and can be very difficult to referee - usually a highly qualified official is flown in from the UK to manage this fixture. Before the leagues arrived referees were appointed from Twickenham and were usually also on the International Panel; names like Johnny Johnson (England) and Jean-Claude Yche (France) were some of the many! Neither Island can possibly complain about biased officials.

The Cup was originally brought to the Channel Islands by a Lieut-Colonel C H Forty, an officer based in Siam with the Durham Light Infantry. A fellow officer in his regiment was the son of the King of Siam. He was befriended by Forty and his fellow officers and on eventually becoming King he instructed that the Cup be made from Ticals (silver Siamese dollars) by the royal silversmiths. He presented the Cup to Forty and his fellow officers as a token of their friendship.

Forty donated the Cup to the islands to be played for annually between Victoria College in Jersey and Elizabeth College in Guernsey ( These are the CI equivalents to UK Public Schools rn). As rugby was no longer played by the two colleges it was decided that it would be played for between the two islands each season. Thus began the annual battle for the Siam Cup.

The original Cup is now safe and secure at Rugby HQ in Twickenham, and is considered as one of the oldest and most highly regarded cups in the game. A replica was made by a renowned Guernsey jeweller, Bruce Russell, and is kept in the trophy cabinet of the successful island. 

PS Rugby has now been taken up again by Victoria College!

Some interesting trivia on Lieut-Colonel C H Forty can be seen on the following links Siam Cup, Siam1, Siam2 and Siam3. These files were given to me by Chris Scott (past Chairman of JRFC), sadly some of the photos cannot be viewed but it gives an interesting insight into the life of a career soldier who moved up from the ranks to become an officer in Burma - no mean feat in those days!