The home team triumphed 78-59 at Beau Sejour, putting behind them a period packed with change and turbulence since their last ‘inters’ success and hosting of an Island Games in 2023.
Last year’s equivalent had ended in tragedy.
A developmental squad were pushed hard on enemy soil, yet the whole occasion was overshadowed by the collapse and death of Jersey stalwart Guillaume Hoareau – which unsurprisingly led the game to be abandoned.
Saturday’s big reunion match was delayed over an hour following fog-related flight delays.
But, after a minute’s ovation for Hoareau, the much-changed Guernsey squad put out a massive team effort to secure a win that slots comfortably among coach Adam Farish’s all-time career highs.
‘This is up there – it’s certainly one of the best to date, it really is,’ Farish said.
‘The injuries we’ve had, development year and all that, and for all these players to go and play for each other and show their heart and everything – it’s emotional for a lot of us.’
It was certainly a significant occasion for Jason Hooper, who excelled to earn MVP less than five years after being ‘pretty much told I would never play again’ following long-term back problems.
Hooper described the squad’s wider success as ‘massive’.
‘I thought this might be one of these years,’ he said.
‘Those guys, they get better and better.
‘This is their best team we’ve played against in decades.
‘There was just uncertainty throughout this entire year. We’ve had quite a subdued year in the local league, but I’m hoping things like today can really reinvigorate it.’
Read the full report in Monday’s Guernsey Press.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.