The long-time Raiders captain is calling time on his rugby career at the end of this season and he admitted it will be a ‘very emotional’ occasion for him tomorrow night at Footes Lane when he leads out the CI for the inaugural Spring Insure Granite Trophy ‘international’ clash with Sweden.
‘It’s been a quality 14-15 years, loads of highs and lows,’ said lock Hillier.
‘There are games which have really stuck out, like over in Jersey when we got our first [Siam] win over there. It’s a difficult place to go, so that was really important.
‘We had a Bournemouth play-off here. We were down at half-time, had some stern words from Jordy [Reynolds] and turned it around and got the promotion.
‘But I think overall the game that stands out for me most, it meant the most as well, was the 2018 Siam and that was the first time we’d won in, I think, 10 years. The first team, second team, vets and ladies all won.
‘My daughter was born around about that time as well, so it meant a lot. We continued celebrations down at the balcony gig, all the boys went down there and you can see what it means to the whole island as well. We took the cup down and people were just openly just filling up the cup, strangers we didn’t even know.
‘It just showed what it meant to the club and to the island, so that sticks out the most. A lot of ups and downs, and it’ll be missed, I’m sure. Maybe I’ll keep the boots clean just in case I’m needed next season.
‘It’s going to be an emotional last game.’
Hillier is also enthused by the prospect of being involved in the first ‘international’ match of its kind and the potential of going out on a high by lifting the brand new Granite Trophy a couple of weeks after the disappointment of losing the Siam.
He has enjoyed the opportunity to come together as a CI team, too, in a similar way to the world-famous Barbarians.
‘It’s really exciting. Obviously having the emotions and feelings of playing Jersey over at their place and unfortunately losing the Siam, then to like bury the hatchet as such and put all emotions aside. But training last week didn’t feel abnormal at all. We gelled really well,’ he said.
‘There’s a bunch of quality players, good lads as well. Two different types of teams playing different styles of rugby and then like coming together to hopefully bring it all together as one. Just from that one training session, it was actually really positive. There’s obviously a good mixture of Jersey and Guernsey players, some of whom we’ve known throughout the years anyway, so it’s not as if we’re complete strangers.
‘I think it’s going to be an entertaining game. Sweden’s going to be obviously a bit of a challenge, we don’t know a great deal about them, but I think it’s going to be a good day, one hopefully it will continue on in future.’
The CI head coach Jordan Reynolds was full of praise for Hillier, who will co-captain the side with Jersey’s Evan Whitson, and believes tomorrow will be a fitting occasion for him to bow out.
‘Lewis started playing for us in 2011, he started captaining the side in 2016, and his progression, just not as a player but as a person, has been outstanding,’ said Reynolds, Guernsey’s director of rugby.
‘Very few people would have such an influence on the club, and I think Lewis has been one of those guys over the years.
‘His effort in training and in games is kind of what we’ve tried to emulate in our ethos within the club. He works really hard at everything he does and him being able to be one of the co-captains on his last game I think is a great honour for such a great man of the club.’
The CI against Sweden kicks off at 7.30pm tomorrow.
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