Russ Hillier doesn’t miss many of Gloucestershire’s games and he’ll be at Regentsholme tomorrow for the final pool game against Surrey (3pm).

Gloucestershire’s hopes of reaching this year’s final at Twickenham at the end of the month were ended by their 46-19 defeat against Hertfordshire last week.

They were revived when they heard that Hertfordshire had been deducted four points for fielding an ineligible player in their 19-12 win over Kent but that deduction has since been cut to two meaning that Gloucestershire can no longer finish top of their pool.

Not that that will stop long-serving county stalwart Hillier cheering on Gloucestershire from the Lydney sidelines tomorrow.

A former player, team secretary, team manager and president, Gloucestershire rugby and Hillier go together like other leading double acts such as Morecambe and Wise.

Whereas Morecambe and Wise were the kings of comedy back in the day, rugby remains deadly serious for 77-year-old Hillier who wants to see Gloucestershire put on a show against the Londoners and end the season in style.

“There’s still plenty to play for,” he said. “There’s the England Counties squad for players to aim for and that should be plenty of motivation. Win or lose, players can still make that squad.

“Apart from that there’s the pride in playing for Gloucestershire. Wearing that shirt still means a lot.”

Hillier played for Gloucestershire during the halcyon days of the county rugby championship and although he never won the tournament, the one-time Stroud and Gloucester full-back still has many happy memories of his time playing representative rugby in the 1960s.

“It may have lost a bit of its glamour but it still offers something different,” he said. “It’s difficult nowadays because all the matches are played at the end of a long hard season.

“In my day we used to play the matches spasmodically throughout the season. We’d be kicking lumps out of each other one Saturday and the next Saturday we’d be lining up in the same side for Gloucestershire.”

That was in the days when any talk of league rugby was little more than a pipedream.

County rugby was one of the main routes into the international arena and Hillier remembers some great names from yesteryear who played for Gloucestershire.

“John Pullin,” he said, “and Tommy Voyce, who played in the 1920s. “Then there’s Mike Teague, Alan Morley, Steve Boyle, Micky Booth, Peter Ford, John Bayliss and Dick Smith – all great players.”

Pullin played for the county just after Hillier had finished but he has great memories of the former England captain and hooker.

“What a player he was,” said Hillier. “He toured South Africa and New Zealand with the British Lions and was in the Lions team that defeated New Zealand in 1971.

“In fact he never lost to New Zealand. He was in that Barbarians side that beat New Zealand in January 1973 and was one of ‘the magnificent seven’ who got their hands on the ball in that Gareth Edwards try.”

Other big names who have played for Gloucestershire include the likes of Jonny May, John A’Bear, Stuart Barnes, Phil Blakeway, Don Rutherford and Tim Payne.

The days of the very top players competing in the county championship have long gone, of course, but that hasn’t diminished Hillier’s love for Gloucestershire.

And if and when they do get to Twickenham again, no one will be cheering louder than him.