Ian Botham’s grandson James in Wales’s Rugby World Cup plans

James Botham, the grandson of cricketing great Ian, is in Wales’s Rugby World Cup plans for 2023.

Flanker James Botham, grandson of Ian, playing for Cardiff in the Anglo-Welsh Cup

James Botham, the grandson of cricketing great Ian, is in Wales’s Rugby World Cup plans for 2023, according to the forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys.

Botham, 22, is the son of Ian Botham’s son of Liam, who played both rugby codes and cricket professionally. The flanker was given a shock call-up to the Wales squad on Monday and is in line for a debut against Georgia in Llanelli on Saturday. He impressed the Wales management during the Guinness Pro14 Welsh derby matches in August.

There are concerns over the fitness of Josh Navidi (concussion) and Ross Moriarty (ankle), as well as the form of James Davies, who was outplayed by the Scotland back row recently, and with Ollie Griffiths unavailable due to the COVID-19 outbreak at Dragons, Botham could create a stunning familial sporting story on Thursday if named in the Wales match-day squad.

“We identified him before the derby games but most memorably in those matches,” said Humphreys, the former Wales hooker and captain who played alongside Liam for Cardiff. “We thought athletically he has the ability to compete in Test rugby. He had some big moments in those games. It was at that point that we identified him as someone going forwards to 2023 that would certainly be in our plans.

“With the injuries that we have at the moment and the uncertainty over some people being able to start at the weekend, we thought it was a big opportunity to bring him in.”

Navidi and Moriarty have been missed by Wales — and now the centre Jonathan Davies is undergoing scans to a right knee injury picked up in the 32-9 defeat by Ireland on Friday (it was a left knee injury that put Davies out for 11 months after last year’s World Cup) — but it has meant chances for Shane Lewis-Hughes, Botham’s back-row partner at Cardiff Blues and a good friend from playing together at under-18 and under-20 levels for Wales, and now possibly Botham himself.

“We’re monitoring Josh and Ross,” Humphreys said. “It’s a day-by-day process. But their injuries have helped us to look at others. It’s been great looking at Shane and James. We do miss Josh and Ross in terms of their personality and physicality in the games but it also gives us that opportunity to look at these two.”

Botham was a late withdrawal from the Blues’ 22-5 Pro14 victory over Benetton on Monday but it did not seem to worry the head coach John Mulvihill, who was delighted with Botham’s summons.

“It’s really exciting for him and his family,” Mulvihill said. “We’re really excited for him as a group, and proud of all of his effort. All of the boys who put on the blue jersey want to change that into red at some point and I know it’s something Jim really wanted to do.”

Botham, who was born in Cardiff while his father was playing in the capital (Liam joined because of his father’s close friendship with the former chairman Peter Thomas and his brother Stan), has always been sure of his nationality and his desire to play for Wales, formerly making long journeys from Sedbergh School in Cumbria to south Wales to train with Wales Under-18.

“I remember my wife Kath decorating a bedroom at home for ‘Jimbo’ when he was little,” Ian Botham has said. “It had to be red, have the three feathers and we had to have some rugby posts in a barn we had. He’s always said he’s Welsh.”

Grandfather Ian was certainly pretty adept at turning the tables — think of Headingley 1981 — and right now Wales, on the back of six consecutive defeats, could do with some spark of inspiration.

“What he brings is massive energy to people around him,” Mulvihill said. “So I’m looking forward to seeing him in a red jersey. He’s got some physical aggression, he’s very hard on the ball and he’s also a very good ball-carrier.”

The Times