The 28-year-old’s grandfather is a British sporting legend and has been in touch since the last match
Wales back-row James Botham has revealed that he had good-natured stick from his famous grandfather following the slip-up that led to Darcy Graham’s crucial try in the Six Nations defeat to Scotland.
Steve Tandy’s side completely switched off from a kick-off after extending their lead to 23-12 in the second half of their last Six Nations match. Finn Russell’s quickly-taken restart allowed wing Graham to latch onto the kick to score, reducing the deficit and proving crucial as Gregor Townsend’s side eventually ran out 26-23 winners.
Cardiff flanker Botham, making his first Wales appearance in a year, was close to the action – with some pointing the blame at the 28-year-old.
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Tandy hasn’t singled out Botham for criticism publicly, but that hasn’t stopped some of his team-mates giving him stick.
“I’ve had it every single day in training from Daf and a few of the other boys saying, ‘Jim! Look up!” quite a bit,” said Botham this week. “But that’s part and parcel of it, I suppose.
“It’s in that environment that you kind of need to be told, because obviously it can’t happen. So, I actually think it’s good I’m getting that from them, in a way.
“It’s funny at the time, to get a bit of stick. But this is professional sport, and we’re all athletes. We’ve got to get on with it.”
He added: “It’s one of those that happened all so fast, and there is learning to take from it, obviously. You can’t switch off at any point at this level. If you do, obviously, everything went because of that bounce.
“I reckon if you did that again a few times, then it probably wouldn’t have bounced the same. But look, it’s happened now. I can’t look back at it and say, oh, ‘what is this?’ It’s happened.
“I’ve just got to never let it happen again, I suppose, and also just focus on the next points and not let it affect me going forward.
“It was definitely louder, and even when the boys screamed, I couldn’t hear them. But it’s happened. It’s one of those where you’ve just got to move on.”
Not only have Botham’s team-mates given him some gentle ribbing, but he’s also had the same treatment from his family.
Dad Liam scored 42 tries in 72 matches for Cardiff, while he narrowly missed out on an England cap during his playing career in rugby union. And of course, James’ grandfather is English cricket legend Ian Botham, with Lord Botham regarded as one of Britain’s finest sportsmen.
“He usually gives me a bit of grief,” said Botham of his dad, Liam. “Even granddad (Ian) said something from the other side of the world.
“He always has a little say. So, I kind of knew it was coming and I was trying to avoid the call a little bit. But no, the FaceTime popped up, and I saw him, and I was like, ‘Oh, here we go!”
He added: “It was more the look, because I was on FaceTime, he didn’t really say too much. He just looked at me, kind of with his head down and smirked.
“But I knew exactly what he was on about. But to be fair, he was very chuffed for me that I had been able to get back out there and play. And apart from that one little thing, I felt good about the whole game really.”
On the influence of his family, Botham has always appreciated that honesty – especially coming from two men who have been there and done it in a sporting context. “That’s quite a good thing to have, I suppose,” he said.
“It was there from a young age. I’ve always knew after every game, there would be the dreaded call from dad. I never knew if it was going to be either good or bad.
“He would always tell me straight how it is, and it was the same with granddad. So, I think that’s helped me down the line.”
Despite the incident, Botham is instead celebrating a first start since the second match of last year’s Six Nations second round match against Italy.
The flanker had established himself as a regular in the latter days of Warren Gatland’s second spell in charge, having had to wait three years between his eighth and ninth cap.
Having been a part of the title-winning side in 2021, he wouldn’t feature for Wales until 2024 – making the last year on the fringes seem that little bit shorter.
“It doesn’t feel like a year since I last played,” he said. “It kind of felt like yesterday.
“When Steve called me, initially I thought that when we get the call, it’s sometimes to say we’re not involved. So my heart sank a bit when I saw it and then he told me it was good news. He’s been great with speaking to people.
“But it was weird. I had played the first few games and then I had about just shy of three years, then played. That felt like a long time.
“At the end of the day, that’s a prime example. You’ve just got to keep your head down and get on with it and hopefully your time comes again.
“Then with regards to then not playing for the summer and the autumn and then coming back in, that felt fast. But it was just one of those.
“You’ve just got to keep doing what you’re doing for your club and then hopefully get the opportunities. It’s not really in your control apart from when it’s on the field.”
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