For half his life now, Tom Ceillam has been representing the Guernsey Raiders first team with distinction. In fact, that does the man affectionately known by his coach as ‘Rae-Rae’ a disservice because he has done so much more than that.
Such is the nature of rugby that it is usually the flying three-quarters or mercurial backs who grab the headlines, and in this island we have also been spellbound by some top-class imports over the years as the club have progressed through the leagues to reach the heights of the fourth tier.
But Ceillam is one of our own, brought up through the ranks of the local academy, and having been earmarked from an early age as the man who would fill the vital role of first-team hooker, he has done so with skill, determination, tenaciousness and true Sarnian grit, capable of excelling at any level he has played.
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Most of all, though, he has shown remarkable longevity and this afternoon he will run out in front of the Garenne Stand having made his 18th Guernsey Siam Cup squad in a row.
That is an amazing statistic for any player, but for a front-rower? It is positively absurd.
Ceillam claims this will be his last – and if anybody deserves to go out on his own terms, it is him – but he also readily admits with a chuckle that this is also now his third ‘retirement’.
‘I was genuinely going to finish last year, but my wife said, after the game in Jersey last year, basically “you can’t finish on that”. So here we are,’ said the 35-year-old whose first Siam was as a fresh-faced teenager who had just turned 18.
‘But yeah, this is number 18 in a row for me, so it’s time – the body’s starting to feel it.’
His body might, but the glint in his eye betrays how much he still enjoys being in the heat of the battle, particularly against the old enemy and he obviously loves the special buzz a Siam brings.
‘Yeah, it’s always different and this feels different once again,’ he said.
‘We’ve got a really good bunch of players, there’s not too many injuries, so we’ve pretty much got, I would say we’re knocking on the door of a full squad to choose from, so it’s really exciting.’
Ceillam also believes his teammates want to end their up-and-down season by lifting that beautiful rose bowl.
‘We’ve had some good parts, we had a good run in the run into Christmas, but it’s just been a bit hit and miss,’ he said of the National Two East campaign.
‘We’ve had some great away performances which are really hard to come by. We’ve just, here and there, not really strung a few decent back-to-back performances together. And that’s kind of what I feel like we’ve missed.
‘But we’ve had a decent chat at the end of the last block. You know, it’s a bit disappointing to finish on those last three, but we’ve clubbed together really well the last few weeks and we’ve had time with this squad together to really buy in. And that’s going to be a key part for this weekend.’
Another key, according to Ceillam, could be home advantage against a Jersey side who have just earned promotion back to the fourth tier themselves having been crowned Regional champions with 21 wins from 22 fixtures.
He does not believe either side starts as favourites, which is far removed from when he first experienced a Siam.
‘Jersey had a really good season. They’ve gone through their league campaign and unfortunately for them they lost their last game. I mean to do that is incredible. They’re going to be coming in on a high on that form alone.
‘Like I said, we’ve had a few ups and downs, but again, we’re all excited. We’re at home – that could be the difference this year.
‘It’s much, much better than when I first started ... it was just when Jersey were on the up through the national leagues. Now we’re both going to be at the same level next year as well, so that’s quite exciting.
‘We’re in a good place.’
It would be a fitting send off if Ceillam could add a fifth Siam victory to his tally today. Although he jokes that Jordan Reynolds, the Raiders coach, can never actually let him go, he knows that he is going to miss these occasions.
‘I’m sure I will.’
And it will not be the same without him.
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