Legendary English cricket player Lord Ian Botham has expressed his annoyance at supporters who wonder why his grandson James plays rugby for Wales.
With almost 5,000 test runs and nearly 400 wickets for England, Lord Botham is regarded as one of the best all-rounders in history.
However, James, his 28-year-old grandson who was born in Cardiff and plays rugby for the capital city, has earned 24 caps for Wales as a flanker.
When asked why James plays for Wales, Lord Botham, 70, remarked, “I tell you why he’s playing for Wales, because he is Welsh.”
James and Lord Botham appeared together on the podcast Beefy & Beaumont ‘Old Boys New Balls!’, which Lord Botham co-hosts with Sir Bill Beaumont, the legendary rugby player from England.
In the late 1990s, Liam, James’ father, was a wing for Cardiff RFC. In 2000, Liam was called up to the England rugby team, however he never received a senior cap.
James claimed that when he was younger, he looked up to Wales fullback Leigh Halfpenny and always wanted to represent Wales.
Dad clearly played down here and always talked so highly of it, and I believe his biggest regret was leaving Cardiff,” he added. “I think just watching Wales play at the time as a kid, I enjoyed playing it,” he said.
Wales is also represented by England’s cricket team, however Lord Botham, popularly referred to as “Beefy,” is strongly linked to his English ties and plays for Somerset.
With 399 runs and 34 wickets in what became known as “Botham’s Ashes” in 1981, he was crucial to England’s victory.
Before entering the House of Lords in 2020, he was knighted in 2007 for his accomplishments in cricket and long-distance charity walks.
Lord Botham claimed that while he was watching a recent Wales rugby match, a spectator approached him and enquired as to why his grandson was representing Wales.
“I looked at this guy and said, ‘Well first and foremost, he was born in Cardiff. That’s not a bad start’,” he added.
“I said he came down, he went through the academy… he only ever wanted to play for Wales.”
“I wish people… would understand that a bit more. I just don’t get it.”
Given his grandfather’s close ties to English sporting greatness, James acknowledged that he frequently receives criticism for playing for Wales. He also revealed that he once attempted to emphasise his Welsh heritage in an interview by adopting “the worst Valleys accent.”
“It was horrendous,” he remarked.
The podcast episode also discussed some of the generational divide between Lord Botham, a player who was well-known for his partying ways for the most of the 1980s, and current professional James.
Lord Botham stated that he thought it was a “utter waste of time and energy” to watch contemporary players warm up for games.
“I watch them, they go running around for about an hour, and I’m thinking that’s an hour of running around and you’ve got to kick off in 10 minutes time,” he said. “Why?”
Lord Ian Botham, a cricket star, recalled the time he retaliated against a rugby supporter who asked why his grandson James was permitted to play for Wales.
One of the best all-rounders in English cricket history, Lord Botham played 102 Test matches for his country, accumulating 5,200 runs and collecting 383 wickets. Liam, his son, never received an international cap despite being called up to the senior England rugby side in 2000.
Despite his well-known English ancestry, Cardiff Rugby star James has carved out a unique career for himself, playing senior international football for Wales 24 times.
With a Welsh flag painted on the wall of his childhood bedroom, the 28-year-old back-rower, who was born in Cardiff but raised in the north of England since he was two years old, has previously acknowledged that he has always had his sights set on playing for Wales.
Despite this, his loyalty has frequently been called into question from the outside. His well-known grandfather was even made to defend his choice after being accosted at a Wales match.
After James joined him on the Beefy & Beaumont ‘Old Boys New Balls’ podcast, Lord Botham talked about the time a supporter came up to him during a game and asked why his grandson was wearing a red jersey.
“I was sat in the stand watching them play against Fiji,” he added. “At the conclusion of the match, a man approached me as I was sitting there and asked, “Can you explain me how your grandson gets to play for Wales?”
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, first and foremost, he was born in Cardiff, that’s not a bad starter is it?’ after looking at this person. After completing the various stages of the academy, “Granny B, Kath, or myself would usually be doing the driving, the round trip of 500 miles, and from that moment, he only ever wanted to play for Wales.”