Charlie Hubert was named Man of The Match after a heroic performance in Saturday’s Siam Cup, helping Jersey to an impressive win in Guernsey!
Dan talked to Charlie about the game itself, what winning meant to the lads and the quiet night that followed!
Read the full interview below!
Firstly, how were you feeling leading up the game? How did the prep go?
I/we were quietly confident as we knew we had come so far from where we were at the start of the season. I believed we had all the quality to be able to go to Guernsey and do a job regardless of their recent form and position in National 2. After all the amount of emotion that rides on the game, league position and level of rugby you play at, goes out the window. As a team we had prepared really well for the game. Our first few gams of the season have been really good building blocks for us to go into the Siam with heaps of confidence. We learnt a huge amount each week which allowed us to prepare for the game exactly how we wanted to. Personally, my preparation was slightly different as I had bit of a race against time to get fit after picking up a slight tear in my hamstring 4 weeks prior to the game. But with the support of the physio’s at Jersey Rugby Club (Darren & Ollie) I was able to do all I could to get fit for the game. Thankfully it held up and I was able to put in all I could for the team on the day.
How nervous did you get throughout the day, or did you keep calm?
We had a fair amount of time to kill during the day so I was trying not to overthink things throughout the day. But naturally as kick off got closer and with it being my first Siam Cup I got those butterflies in the stomach. But in some way I was pleased that these came with it because it allowed me to realise how much this game meant to me, the boys and the island. I like to think I am pretty calm within that environment as it allows me to focus on what my job is, but everyone prepares differently so it’s important you let people go about that in their own way.
How did you think the game went – do you think you deserved the win?
The game couldn’t have been closer in terms of score line, but reflecting on it I felt we were never not in control of the game. Although we were under pressure for periods of the game I believed we had the ability to deal with whatever Guernsey threw at us. Especially in the first quarter where we took a lot of heat in our own half without them getting a huge amount of gain. To go in at half time with a lead was huge as we knew the second half would open as Guernsey would have to start chasing the game. But as we showed, our fitness levels and ability to see out a game were evident as apart from a penalty they never had a good shot at scoring any points. – We deserved every bit of win as we have progressed as a group so much so ticking this off was massive.
Did you enjoy playing in front of a big Guernsey crowd, being the slight underdogs too!
The crowd was pretty cool to play in front of, it was always going to be hostile and especially with so few Jersey supporters we knew it was going to be tough. From hearing what previous Siam Cups have been like, the crowd was pretty tame I thought, maybe that was because they realised once we were in control of the game and they were going to be on the wrong end of the score line, being overly confident didn’t bode so well for them.
Describe the moment when the game was over and you’d won – how good was that?
It’s one of those moments that I’ll never forget, knowing the hard work you put in to get there individually and as a team it makes it extra special. Of course doing it against the odds supposedly, in their back yard has that feeling of getting one up on your bitterest rivals. And you can’t beat that!
You received MOTM as well! How proud are you of that achievement?
To be honest, I didn’t think I’d done enough to deserve it. But to see the response from the boys about my performance obviously meant I didn’t do too bad. – To receive any personal accolade is always nice and to do it in my first Siam was a huge achievement and again one I won’t forget. But, I was just pleased I was able to do my bit for the team which helped us get the result we were after.
How great has the reaction been from friends + family, plus all the Jersey crowd?
To see how many people back in Jersey had tuned in and followed the game was pretty surreal. It makes you realise how much this means to Jersey people, so to be able to get on the right side of the result was not only special for us but for the family, friends and supporters was awesome to see.
Finally, how good were the celebrations! Have you all recovered!
The celebrations when we returned were as expected, pretty big! These moments don’t come around too often so when they do, you need to take it in and understand what you have achieved. We have taken the week off from training to allow for the dust to settle and boys to recover from the game & the celebrations. We’ve got a good few games coming up before Christmas to prepare for so we will come back together as group next week and look to use the Siam win as a huge stepping stone to allow us to continue building on what’s been a really positive start to the season.
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