I spoke to Frank Taggert and a few of the players who were in favour so the question was who to start with. But then when I thought about it there was no question , it had to be the Blues living legend James Trevis. When I looked at the stats James has made 257 recorded appearances scored 97 tries and 485 points! To put that into some sort of perspective of the boys still playing at the Club the next highest number of appearances is Joel Forward on 141, Andrew Rowlandson 116 followed by Will Hoare 109, Richie Neil 107 and Maxx Morris 103. James passed Alex Finch in appearances in 2017 when he retired on 187. When it comes to tries in the current squad the only person remotely close is Maxx with 65. Some record and James is only thirty so hopefully there is plenty more to come including 100 tries and 500 points.

I had a chat with Trevis (he prefers to be called Trevis rather than James) recently and he told me that his first season playing for the Blues first XV was 2006/7 which was before records were kept and he reckons he has already made 300 appearances but one of his ambitions is to get to 300 recorded appearances. His other great ambition is to one day play in the same Blues team as his son Tio who is ten years old and is already showing a lot of promise as well as looking like he is going to be a large unit just like his dad! Now that would be something.

The first recollection Trevis has of rugby is watching his Dad Ian play. Trevis a Brighton lad attended St Peters Primary School and then Cardinal Newman School/College where he first played rugby having already become a very keen footballer. Trevis began as a No 8 but then became a centre and a wing after becoming a keen athlete and doing plenty of speed training. Trevis joined The Blues in 2000/01 as an eleven year old and has loved the game ever since especially enjoying the various physical challenges the game throws up. Rugby was taking over from football. Trevis progressed quickly to play for Sussex Schools and was with Harlequins from the age of twelve to fifteen. After Cardinal Newman Trevis spent his final year of education at Sussex Downs College where he was coached by Neil McGovern who would go on to be a big influence in his rugby career. According to Trevis he was pretty speedy at this time and one of his nicknames was The Portslade Express. Another nickname was J-Lo but I’m not sure if that refers to Jonah or Jennifer?

Trevis made his debut for the First XV in the 2006/7 season as a winger and the side was coached by Neil Zanger. In 2007/8 Trevis joined Hayward Heath, who at the time were playing at a higher level than The Blues, and was reunited with Coach Neil McGovern. At the end of the season Neil was appointed as the new coach of The Blues and he asked Trevis and several other subsequent Blues regulars to join The Blues with him. Trevis jumped at the chance and has never regretted it for a moment. The 2008/9 season was to be a real triumph for The Blues winning the League undefeated as well as the National Cup and the Sussex Cup . Trevis tells me that for one season he was the teams place kicker but perhaps not the Blues best ever! Trevis converted from wing to second row in the 2015/16 season. I asked Trevis who his Rugby heroes were/are and the list is Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson,Carlos Spencer, Tana Umaga, Jonah Lomu and Joe Rockocoko so I guess you would have to say that he is still a Back at heart.

I asked Trevis what were his best memories of his almost twenty years at the Club and he said that there were several. Firstly the 112-0 win over Lewes, the win against East Grinstead on the ATP covered in snow, winning promotion last year especially the last two games against Camberley and Colchester were brilliant. But the best memories of all are the three National Cup wins, all at Twickenham. The finals were a great thrill for everyone at the Club and it proved to be very difficult to focus on other games to the extent that the word "Twickenham" had to be banned. Trevis says he has loved his time at the Club and enjoys playing with a group of lads that work and play as a team and nobody thinks he is bigger than the Club itself. He still loves the challenge of each game and the chance to use his experience. In his career to date Trevis has only received two red cards in both cases the result of two yellows. He likes to play the game with passion but hard and fair and is more canny nowadays being happy to wind opponents up rather than give away penalties for foul play. He also firmly believes that when the final whistle blows everything gets left on the pitch. I asked Trevis if he had ever captained the First XV and his reply was " No but I have played under some great captains including Lloyd Jenkins and Will Smith. If I ever get the opportunity I would consider it a massive privilege and honour. "I also asked him what it was like when he first made the First XV and he said "Everybody was always very supportive with the older players taking the youngsters under their wing particularly Tudor, Gibbo, Ricey and Jenks."

After the 2017/18 season finished here Trevis went to play for and coach at The Mud Dogs in New Zealand and it was in the 2018/19 season here when he returned that Trevis started to play as a prop. He is happy to play either loose or tight head but marginally prefers tight head. Hopefully he will play for many more seasons as a prop.

I have spoken to a few current players to get their views of him as a player and as a person. He is much respected by everybody I have spoken to and a very popular member of the team. He is regarded as very reliable and honest as well as committed. His half time team talks/rants are infamous. He told me that he often forgets that they can be heard outside the changing rooms! I was told that in a game a few years ago and defending our line he received the ball behind the line and in attempting to get over the line forgot to look up and crashed head first into the posts with a mighty thump knocking on in the process. Fortunately he managed to shake off the bang to the head and proceeded to make a try saving tackle in the corner. Real commitment! I am also told that he has, to say the least, a healthy appetite and that when he has had a few beers he wants to take on the world and starts speaking in a weird Samoan accent? Finally I was told that he has a dry sense of humour. Some years ago he shared a flat with Jordon Wythe and Adam Salvage and apparently one night Jordan rang to tell Trevis and Adam that he was on his way home with a very nice young lady so could they please be on their best behaviour. When Jordan and said young lady arrived they walked into the kitchen and Trevis and Adam were playing cards at the table, the only problem was that they were both wearing just their Birthday Suits!

Let us all hope that we do get some sort of 20/21 season and hopefully Trevis will get the three tries he needs to get to 100 tries and 500 points. In the meantime I wish you all the very best of health.