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Cricket legend Lord Ian Botham has recalled the moment he hit back at a rugby fan who questioned why his grandson James was allowed to play for Wales.
Lord Botham is an icon of English cricket – playing 102 Tests for the national side while scoring 5,200 runs and taking 383 wickets – and is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders the sport has ever seen. His son, Liam, meanwhile, was called up to senior England rugby squad in 2000 but never won an international cap.
However, despite his famous English heritage, Cardiff Rugby star James has forged his own path, representing Wales 24 times on the international stage at senior level.
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The 28-year-old back-rower, who was born in Cardiff but brought up in the north of England from age two, has previously admitted that he always had his heart set on playing for Wales, with a Welsh flag painted on the wall of his childhood bedroom.
Despite this, he has often had his allegiance questioned from the outside, with his famous grandfather once being forced to explain his decision after being confronted at a Wales game.
Having been joined by James on the Beefy & Beaumont ‘Old Boys New Balls’ podcast, Lord Botham recalled the moment a fan approached him at a match and questioned why his grandson was playing in a red jersey.
“I was sat in the stand watching them play against Fiji,” he said. “I was sat there and at the end of the game, this gentleman came up to me and said ‘can you tell me how your grandson gets to play for Wales?’.
“So I looked at this guy and said ‘well, first and foremost, he was born in Cardiff, that’s not a bad starter is it?’. He went through the academy, through the different phases.
“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.”
Lord Botham went on to voice his frustration at James’ decision being questioned, adding: “I wish people here [in England] would understand that a bit more.
“They are saying, why is he playing for Wales? I’ll tell you why he’s playing for Wales – because he’s Welsh, in his own brain, in his own mind. He’s married to Izzy, he lives in Cardiff, I just don’t get it.”
James went on to admit that he got “so much grief” about playing for Wales with his English heritage that he tried to put on a Welsh accent in an interview.
“The worst thing I’ve ever done, and it’s still online to this day on YouTube – I shouldn’t really say because I’ll give myself so much s***.
“I came down and my first ever interview, I was U18s and we were in South Africa, and I don’t know what happened but I put on the worst Valleys accent ever. I don’t know what it was, it was horrendous.
“I’ve gone from being at school, speaking like I am now to sounding so Welsh it was ridiculous, to then going back to speaking normally afterwards,” he added.
“I don’t know what actually happened that day. I think it was because I had so much grief about it, I was like s**, I’ve actually got to try and speak Welsh here, when actually deep down, I am really. That was the weirdest day of my life.”
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