The Jake Ball verdict on becoming re-eligible for Wales while in Japan

The last thing Jake Ball imagined happening following his move to Japan in the summer of 2021 was that he would become re-eligible for Wales selection less than two years later. A desire to be closer to his Perth-based family resulted in him quitting what he had come to know during his professional rugby career – every nook and cranny in Llanelli after nine years at the Scarlets as well as a 50-cap Test career with his adopted country.

His last international appearance came off the bench away to Italy in the Six Nations with Wayne Pivac in charge, and he was resigned to that being the final outing of a Test career that began under Warren Gatland with a 2014 debut in Dublin against Ireland.

Rules were rules and with a player based outside Wales needing 60 caps in order to remain eligible for selection, Ball’s decision to take up a two-year deal with the NEC Green Rockets in Japan counted him out. Until now.

A consequence of the recent threatened Wales player strike was the alteration of the eligibility criteria, the 60-cap barrier getting shaved to 25 and theoretically making the soon-to-be 32-year-old Ball eligible to play Test rugby again.

Gatland, his international coach for six of his eight years involved, is back at the Welsh helm, so what is the current state of play – has there been any communication between the pair five months out from the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France?

“No, no, I have had no contact so far,” he said over a Zoom from Japan, a briefing he chaired with Nathan Hughes as part of a look-ahead at the next round of League One fixtures. “Look, I’m just concentrating on being here and playing for NEC at the moment. If that were to happen that’s a conversation that might happen. I have had no contact so far.”

Ball featured at two previous World Cups under Gatland, acting as a squad player in 2015 before blossoming into a semi-final starter four years later versus South Africa. His final cap in Rome was his sole appearance in the title-winning 2021 Six Nations under Pivac, but he exited harbouring no regrets about calling it quits – and he still feels that very same way.

“Look, I am really happy. I am very lucky to have been able to play international rugby. I feel like I have been able to achieve a few things there. I am happy with the way I left. The intention was never to come back and play for Wales when I left.

“I have had to make peace with the fact there was that 60-cap rule in place and I play never play for Wales again. In terms of that, I have made peace with it. I am enjoying playing here in Japan and hopefully I will stay on here for another few years.

“I’m really happy with what I achieved when I was in Wales. I have been lucky, I had a really good career there. There is nothing I would have done any different.”

Being in the Far East hasn’t stopped him from keeping abreast of the Welsh grapevine. He knows all about the recent contract wranglings, particularly as Ken Owens remains a firm friend, and whether or not Gatland ever gives him a call sounding out his selection availability, he is backing Wales for a World Cup upsurge in fortunes.

“Definitely, definitely. You can never write Wales off. We are a dogged team and in terms of our history of World Cup, we have always performed pretty well,” he insisted before turning to all the rancour with the WRU.

“I still keep an eye; I talk to a fair few of the boys. It’s a shame to see some of the stuff that has gone on of late with the contracts and things but hopefully they come up with a decent solution and it all gets fixed up.

“I’m fairly friendly with Ken Owens; I messaged him a couple of times. Look, it’s something that probably needed to happen with Welsh rugby as well there have been issues there for a little while and maybe out of this can come something quite good. That will be the hope, that there is a long-term solution for Welsh rugby.”

Ball has been inundated with Welsh players peppering him with questions about rugby life in Japan. “Yeah, quite a lot actually. I am not going to name any names. It’s difficult. The players are uncertain about their futures and have been told their salaries are being cut by a lot. That is a difficult situation for them to be in. It’s a tough time over there at the moment.”

The Far East has suited Ball, the Berkshire-born lock whose family emigrated with him as a teenager to Australia. His own young family is now also based in Parth and the commute from there to Japan has been manageable.

“It’s been great because of the way the season has been structured here, the opportunity I get. I had four months off-season as well back in Australia with my family. We tend to play for four weeks and then get a down week.

"I have flown back to Perth and seen my family and then come back again. That is the way it is structured. They are actually over here at the moment. They are over in Japan for three and a half weeks through the school holidays, so it’s worked out really well.

Aside from this domestic bliss and his enjoyment of Japanese cuisine, the rugby is tough. The Chiba-based Rockets were never going to be an overnight success and with a restructure saving them from relegation after a winless first season with Ball, they have fared only slightly better the second year around.

“Look, it has been tough. NEC was a project; I knew that when I first arrived here. The first year I was here we didn’t actually win a game in the league, but we managed to avoid relegation and we have won two so far this year and could have picked up another couple of wins. We have got a fair bit of work to do on our squad to get really competitive.”

Ball is currently in negotiations about staying on, adding that his two campaigns there have changed him as a player. “I’m just talking at the moment so hopefully I will be on here for another few more years,” he said about the future.

“It is definitely a different style of rugby; they love a low tackle. All the Japanese guys are a lot shorter so there is definitely a bit of an adapting period when you first get here and I have adjusted. I certainly try and put in a bit of footwork, and working on your fend is probably a key element to avoid getting too many dead legs.

“Learning has been the big thing coming here, everything has been different. Even calling lineouts and things like that. A large number of players don’t speak English so you have to come up with systems and things that everyone can understand. That’s part of everything you have to adapt to as well. I really enjoy the challenge.”