'There will be no problems for me': England sporting legend set to switch national allegiance to support Welsh debutant grandson
Ian Botham, one of England's great sporting heroes, reckons he knows exactly who he will be cheering for should his grandson James ever takes the field in a rugby test against England.
"When England play Wales there will be no problems for me," said the Ashes cricket legend who is these days Lord Botham.
"It will be, 'Come on, Jimbo!'"
Botham, who has always been the proudest of Englishmen, told BBC Wales that he was delighted James has been selected to play his first rugby international for Wales against Georgia on Saturday.
It maintains the tradition of the Botham sporting dynasty with James' dad Liam having been a successful professional in three sports - cricket, rugby union and rugby league.
The 22-year-old Cardiff Blues flanker James is known as 'Jimbo' to his family and both his dad and grandad could not be prouder of his selection.
"I will be absolutely delighted when he gets that Wales cap," said the 63-year-old Botham.
"I have been on the wagon for four weeks and my next drink was going to be Christmas Day.
"But you never know, I might sneak one on Saturday.
"Nothing will ever give me more pride than when the family does well.
"Liam went to the England squad on tour to South Africa (in 2000) and probably would have played in the last Test if he had not gone down with a bug."
Botham's connection with Wales was always strong even before son Liam made his name as a prolific try-scoring Cardiff wing.
"I have a lot of friends in Wales and we have done some (charity) walks there with the hospitals, so I have a strong affiliation with Wales," he said.
Only called into the Wales squad on Monday, James Botham said he was excited by the prospect of his international debut after just 13 professional games.
"I was just looking at it thinking 'this can't be real!' but it is and I can't wait to go out there now," he said.
And he recalled words of advice from his grandfather as he prepared for the Autumn Nations Cup clash.
"He (Ian) says, 'Be professional about it, ignore the haters you will always get, keep your head down, try and become the best you can, and the perks come with it. Don't get ahead of yourself. Enjoy yourself - that's the main thing'," he said.
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Hard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
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