Danny McAlister will spend a little longer than usual savouring the atmosphere as he leads the Jersey RFC 1st XV out onto the pitch this Saturday afternoon.

It is Siam Cup weekend; Jersey v the old enemy, Guernsey, for the second oldest trophy in the world behind the Calcutta Cup and, in Danny’s eyes, an afternoon that might not be repeated for some years to come – perhaps never.

For the Jersey captain, who has played in eight Siam Cup competitions, is taking time out next year to put other considerations first, namely his family.

‘We’re expecting twin girls on 12 July, and as I already work long hours and we don’t have much family living over here in Jersey, rugby will no longer be my No 1 priority,’ he said.

‘I might play an occasional game for the 2nds and commit myself a bit more after Christmas, but, much as I love my sport, my long-term commitment must be to my family.

I’m only 30, so I might come back and play more serious rugby in another three or four years’ time, but I owe it to my wife and my other daughter (2 1/2 years old) to spend my free time with them.’ So this Siam Cup weekend will be a swansong for a likeable player and influential captain who has led his side to 20 wins out of 20 in the London-South-West League, Division III, a captain who prop Marcus Nobes rates as a steadying influence on a side which has simply got better and better as the season has progressed.

‘Danny Mac has been a great captain this year, quietly giving us confidence and self-belief and encouraging us not to play as 15 individuals, but as a team,’ he said.

‘Over the last few games, when we’ve run out onto the pitch, it’s been a case of “”nothing but a win”".’ And McAlister has led by example both on and off the pitch.

Take last weekend, for instance.

While the rest of the team were celebrating having beaten Effingham and Leatherhead 20-6, by 8.30 pm McAlister was asleep.

‘I was whacked.

My job had taken me to San Francisco, and having travelled back on Saturday morning I had to spend three hours at Gatwick before flying to Jersey where my wife picked me up at 1.15 pm, collected my kit, and then she took me to the rugby club.

‘I was tempted to spend my weekend on holiday in America, but that would have sent out all the wrong kind of messages to the rest of the players.

If I’d done that, given the opportunity, why not them? ‘I needed to be back here in Jersey although I was shattered by the end of the game.’ McAlister, a team man through and through, recognised then, as he does now, how important it is for a captain to lead by example.

It is something that he, and other senior players on the pitch like Ian Henderson and Roger Quirk, do virtually without thinking, as they get through a huge amount of the ‘donkey work’ that forwards have to do if the ball is ever to get to the threes.

However, for the first time in many years the whole of the Jersey side have been committed to the club this season, a commitment that McAlister equates to a large, extended family.

‘Dai (Burton, the JRFC coach) has continually emphasised that no player is indespensable,’ said McAlister.

‘And unlike other seasons, we’ve kept the nucleus of a squad, using something like the same 17 guys in 20 of the games we’ve played in all competitions this season.

That makes a difference.

It means if you miss a game, you can’t automatically expect to walk straight back into the team without benching first.

‘Commitment has been good, both at the weekends and in training.

And, as in any family, we don’t just meet for two hours on a Saturday afternoon.

We’ll spend time before away fixtures having a meal together on a Friday night.

And members of the team, and the club, are even helping me with my loft conversion before the twins are due! The atmosphere in the Jersey clubhouse is second to none.

I’m going to miss it.’ While McAlister looks forward to a summer of copious nappy-changing, sleepless nights and (as most fathers with young babies are happy to tell you) the occasional dribble down the front of your shirts and ties, that is two months, at least, into the future.

First is the question of retaining the Siam Cup which Jersey only succeeded in doing, convincingly, in the last 20 minutes in 2004.

‘Their play-maker seems to be their experienced No 8,’ said McAlister.

‘So I’d imagine we’ll try to stop him whenever we can.

They’ve also two excellent Welsh players in the front row at tight head and hooker.

But what we’ll have to do is what we’ve been doing all season: focusing on our game and not worrying too much, beforehand, on theirs.

‘Although I can’t see them beating us, they’ve had a good run in the Hampshire League and they’ve a strong pack of forwards.

‘I think it could be close, but if we win by a couple of scores, I’ll be happy.

The league was our priority this year and to go unbeaten all season has been a remarkable achievement.

‘And, if we do win, I won’t be in bed and asleep at 8.30 pm on a Saturday evening.

I hope I’ll have enough energy in me to spend some of that time celebrating!’