Prop Jack Higgins will be leaving Albion after signing a contract with Championship side Jersey Reds.
Jack very kindly spoke to us about his decision to leave…
“For next season I’ve signed with Jersey Reds in the Championship. I got a message from my agent out of the blue saying they want a chat. I got good positive vibes from them and it seemed like a good opportunity for me. It is one of those things where if you’re set a challenge, rise to it. I don’t want to leave any stone unturned”.
On what he has gained from his time at Albion…
“For me, the tightness of the group was the biggest thing, it’s a tight community. I gained a lot of confidence in my ability while at the club playing every game for Albion bar one this year. It gave me more confidence and more self-belief”.
His favourite moment in an Albion shirt…
“Definitely my favourite moment was beating Richmond away! As a squad we were under a lot of pressure, we had no Head Coach at the time and as players that could make or break us, we decided to stick together. We were being pumped massively in the first half in all facets of the game, Richmond showed why they were top of the table. Then we scored a couple of very decent tries. At the end I believe we had a scrum penalty, advantage, ball gets passed out to Javiah (Pohe), Javiah passes to Connor, Connor hits (Alex) Ducker, (Josh) Skelcey pulled out from the wing, gets the offload and we score in the corner with seconds to go, we beat them! I think it was a massive turning point in the season for the belief in the group. I’ve watched it a few times back and Josh has watched it so many times, he watches it every day”.
His work off the pitch…
“I was involved with the community coaching with me, Josh, Sam (Daly) And Reece (Bartlett). I’m proud to have represented the club and the city in terms of going out in my role as a community coach. It is good to think where my rugby career is seeing kids picking up a rugby ball for the first time and seeing the enjoyment, they are having from it that I have with it still. That is what will keep people playing and keep the game going, people enjoying it. If you are not enjoying it then you won’t put the hard graft in, so it is good to see the enjoyment coming from that side. I would like to give a massive mention to the Marjon Women’s team, I’ve needed to use a different set of skills and they have responded really well. When they played well, they were shut out. There were some very talented players in that team which I’m sure will go on to get further honours”.
And a statement for members of the club and the supporters…
“As a club, as a community and the players, they are all very tight and that was evident from the first session I went in. In all facets especially the fans, it is huge when it’s an away game and we have more fans turn up and they are louder than the home fans. The supporters at the club are amazing and it is something to build on. It is great to see the joy it brings to people. I have a lot of fond memories of Plymouth and It is unfortunate that it is coming to an end for me but again, it is just too big of an opportunity for me not to pursue.
I would like to say just keep going, keep your heads down and work hard. There is a new coach who comes highly recommended, there should be no reason why they can’t kick on and push for the league, look to finish and stay at the top end of that table”.
We at Albion would like to thank Jack for his hard work on and off the pitch representing our club. We’d like to wish him the best of luck in his next chapter.
