Jim Hamilton thinks captaining Gloucester could prove his greatest rugby achievement.
The proud lock still cannot quite believe he will leave Kingsholm for Montpellier this summer.
BUNDLING over the line to score against London Irish, Jim Hamilton touched down and pointed to the sky.
Toasting Gloucester's LV=Cup triumph, Hamilton trod the Franklin's Gardens turf, cradling his baby son.
Jack James Hamilton was on hand for two of his dad's favourite Gloucester moments.
The proud Cherry and Whites lock will sit down with JJ in 20 years, and dig out the snapshots – as much to remind himself as his son that both events took place.
Hamilton's one and only Gloucester try, in the 41-8 LV=Cup victory over London Irish in February 2011, proved perfect timing – it was his son's first game.
After sneaking round a lineout and barrelling home, Hamilton realised JJ and partner Becki were directly above him, in the boxes at Kingsholm's old Tump end.
The former Edinburgh and Leicester enforcer said he will cherish that moment just as much as the celebratory kiss he gave his son after Gloucester had dispatched Newcastle Falcons 34-7 in the LV=Cup final in March 2011.
Hamilton explained: "When I scored a try against London Irish, my son was at his first game, that was an amazing thing for me.
"I don't score many tries as it is, but it happened to be right under the box where he was.
"And then I had him on the pitch after the LV=Cup final.
"Just as JJ was born, I saw a picture of a young Shaun Knight on Kingsholm with his dad when his dad was playing for Gloucester, and I thought what a great picture it was.
"I remember thinking I would love to have something like that.
"And then the picture of me and JJ just happened by chance.
"So that's something I can always treasure.
"What a great picture to have, to show my son in 15 or even 20 years' time, to show him he was actually there.
"Little things like that mean a lot to me.
"The Toulouse game last year, the game at home against Leicester last season, and even playing at Saracens in the semi-final when we should have won.
We've had some huge, huge games and I would love to see Gloucester go on and take that next step, and win some big trophies."
Hamilton will leave Gloucester for French Top 14 side Montpellier this summer, a year before his Kingsholm contract was due to expire.
The French club have paid a substantial transfer fee to release him, and Gloucester appreciate the motivation for their club captain departing.
Montpellier's whopping salary offer was simply too lucrative for Hamilton to ignore, with a young family to provide for as he starts to plan for life after rugby.
The towering Scotland lock had rejected big-money offers from the likes of Racing Metro previously, but this deal was on a new scale.
Unable to compete with the cash-rich French, Gloucester stood aside, and will send Hamilton off across The Channel with their respect and best wishes.
When cult figure Big Jim does finally head off to France, he admits he will have to keep telling himself he spent a year as Gloucester's club captain.
Immensely proud to have led the Cherry and Whites, Hamilton thinks that could yet prove the biggest achievement of his career.
He continued: "I'll miss playing at Kingsholm.
"I'll miss running out as captain.
"Those will be the two things I'll miss most.
"The feeling and excitement you get when you play at Kingsholm, it's unrivalled.
"It almost hasn't sunk in that I've been able to captain this side.
"And potentially it will be my biggest achievement in rugby, because of the history and tradition of Gloucester.
"It's not something the club or the supporters take lightly, it's not something that is granted easily.
"It's a big achievement, and the fact it was for a season not just one game, that will stay with me forever.
"I think personally it has made me a better person, and definitely a better player.
"The extra responsibility has really helped.
"Before the off-season I certainly wasn't where I needed to be discipline-wise.
"When things didn't go our way I went off on my own and did things I shouldn't have done.
"But I think I've been able to use that in a positive way, and control factors that probably let me down in the past.
"And that's something I want to take forward and use, for the rest of my career."
