Wales flank James Botham has revealed how his famous grandfather, Ian Botham, reacted to his “gut-wrenching” Six Nations mistake against Scotland.
The loose forward was partly to blame for the Darcy Graham try that turned last month’s Cardiff clash Scotland’s way, with the visitors’ eventual 26-23 success ending Welsh hopes of a first championship win in three years.
Botham, with his back to the ball, and wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb were both caught napping from Finn Russell’s quickly taken restart kick, the ball landing between the pair for Scotland wing Graham to nip in and score.
Darcy Graham reduces the points difference to 4 with this try for Scotland vs. Wales.#WALvSCO #GuinnessM6N #SixNationsRugby #WelshRugby #AsOne pic.twitter.com/mBrpDn6wmS
— Sin Bin Rugby. (@sin_bin_rugby) February 21, 2026
The 28-year-old Botham, said he has had “stick” for his error, with England cricket great Ian, currently in Australia, also weighing in.
“Even grandad said something from the other side of the world,” James Botham told reporters. “He always has a little say.
“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!’.
“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. 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.”
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Botham followed his father Liam, himself a professional cricketer and rugby player, by representing Cardiff and made his Wales debut in November 2020.
He made three appearances off the bench as Wales won the Six Nations in 2021.
Botham fell out of favour before being named for the 2024 Six Nations, although he was overlooked by incoming coach Steve Tandy for his first squad of the November international series.
“It doesn’t feel like a year since I last played – it kind of felt like yesterday,” said Botham. “When Steve called me, initially I thought it was a call to say I was not involved.
“So my heart sank a bit when I saw it and then he told me it was good news.”
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Wales are rank outsiders to end a run of 14 successive Six Nations defeats when they face Ireland in Dublin on Friday.
“I know we’ve not won for several years out there, so it’s another marker for us,” said Botham. “We need to put in another performance and show what we’ve got.”
– AFP
Photos: Dan Istitene/Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
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