England cricket legend Ian Botham has revealed how he responded to a rugby fan who asked why his grandson James was allowed to play for Wales.
Fan's Question at Wales Match
Lord Botham, who played 102 Tests for England and is regarded as one of cricket's greatest all-rounders, was watching Wales play Fiji when a spectator approached him. On the 'Beefy & Beaumont' podcast, Botham recalled: "I was sat in the stand watching them play against Fiji. 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?'"
Botham's Fierce Defence
Botham said he replied: "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." He added that his wife Kath or he often drove James from England to Wales — a 500-mile round trip — and that James "only ever wanted to play for Wales."
Lord Botham expressed frustration that James's allegiance was questioned, stating: "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 Botham's Welsh Accent Attempt
James Botham, a 28-year-old back-rower born in Cardiff but raised in northern England from age two, has earned 24 caps for Wales. He admitted on the podcast that he received "so much grief" about his heritage that he tried to adopt a Welsh accent in an early 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," James said.
He added: "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. 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."
