Six Nations 2016: Tom James admits ‘mistakes’ on Wales return

More than five years after walking out on squad the flying Cardiff Blues wing will take on Ireland

(Getty Images)

It is more than five years since Tom James last played for Wales, the winger leaving the squad under a cloud.

Overlooked for a Six Nations match against Italy, he walked out of the camp in frustration and has struggled to walk back in since.

Those wilderness years had looked set to draw to a close finally at last year’s World Cup only for a heel injury to rule him out of Wales’ injury-ravaged squad.

Now the Cardiff Blues flyer, Wales’ form wing this season with George North struggling to get his hands on the ball and Alex Cuthbert not quite the player he was, is once more back in the starting line-up.

The 28-year-old is determined that the only unpredictability from him will manifest itself on the field against Ireland on Sunday, the 10-time capped international determined not to let the opportunity slip. James is not ashamed to admit that he has far from a clean slate.

“When you are younger you make mistakes,” he said. “I’ve gone away, grown up and matured as a person.”

His saving grace came in the form of a move away from Wales to the Exeter Chiefs before returning this season to the Blues, where he has earned rave reviews repeatedly.

Wales players past and present have spoken of the occasionally claustrophobic nature of Welsh rugby and, for James, it has been no different.

“I was in the goldfish bowl and needed to get away,” he said of his temporary relocation to the West Country. “I needed to become the forgotten man of Welsh rugby.

“But you always want to play for your country and, in my second season at Exeter after a few good games, I was hopeful the call would come. It didn’t but I carried on working and it’s paid off.”

It was under the level-headed, no-nonsense approach of Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter that James knuckled down to improve his all-round game.

The end product has not gone unnoticed, with the Blues and national captain Sam Warburton, who once again leads his side this weekend despite only recently returning from an injury lay-off, leading the plaudits.

“You see New Zealand with Maori wingers who are explosive and unpredictable,” said Warburton following the annoucement of the team. “Tom is our equivalent with his power and he is a very exciting player to watch.

“He has been outstanding for the Blues and not just on the field but the way he is with the younger guys. At 28, he is probably in his prime physically and you see that when he is training in the gym or on the field, he is an absolutely brilliant athlete.”

The Welsh Maori is only just beginning to let the news sink in – it was broken to him at training yesterday in front of the rest of the squad, which he said led “to an emotional couple of hours”.

It is not a case that the head coach, Warren Gatland, or his co-coaches have held a grudge in the intervening five-plus years since James’s walk-out, the player being reassured that “there were no hard feelings” despite admitting his behaviour had been far from exemplary.

But his form combined with a new-found maturity – which has been helped by his impending parenthood – has led to his return. And then there’s the fact that Gatland has hinted at a more expansive, attacking Wales during this Six Nations campaign.

If true, it is an opportunity James, with just two international tries to his name, will relish. “As soon as I have the ball in my hands I have the confidence that I can beat anyone,” he said. “Hopefully I can show that in a way I didn’t show when I played for Wales in the past.” At Dublin’s Aviva Stadium this weekend, it will feel like he is winning his first cap all over again.

Gatland’s match-day squads have been notable for the curve balls he tends to throw –he has always shown a propensity to do so. The recalled James, though, will not be one of them.

Gatland said: “I think he has grown up and matured fantastically well as a person and a player. He’s come back and his form for the Blues has been outstanding, so he has been selected on merit.”

The New Zealander had been tipped to pick Liam Williams at full-back but has decided to give him a further week to get fully fit following his foot problems so Gareth Anscombe is the surprise choice at 15.

Anscombe, a Blues teammate of James, has played the majority of his club rugby this season at fly-half and looks likely to face an aerial bombardment from the Ireland kickers.

The Anscombe gamble – if it is such a thing – gives Wales the option of a second first receiver and Gatland is confident that the New Zealand-born back can shine despite having failed to ignite in his few appearances for Wales to date.

“Gareth has some great vision,” said Gatland. “With not considering Liam, we have gone for a little bit more height in that back three because we expect Ireland to put a lot of balls in the air.”

Gethin Jenkins is moved to the bench, with Rob Evans, a player labelled as “the future” by Gatland, preferred in the front row, while the established starting back row has been broken up, with Justin Tipuric being preferred to Dan Lydiate.

The move may be no more than temporary, Gatland making it clear that he did not want to risk two back-row players just returning from injury in Lydiate and Warburton.

As for the prospect of Ireland, Gatland knows that Wales potentially have the upper hand against injury-ravaged opponents. But his official line is that “the Irish are at their best when they’re written off”.

Gatland’s newly selected wing, James, is no stranger to being written off in similar fashion.