Botham 'sledged' by grandfather Lord after mishap

James Botham has not only had stick from his Wales team-mates after a costly mishap against Scotland - he has been sledged by his legendary cricketing grandfather Lord Botham.

The 28-year-old flanker will attempt to build on a strong return to the international stage when starting against Ireland in the Six Nations in Dublin on Friday (20:10 GMT).

Botham has been promoted to the starting XV after impressing as a replacement against the Scots, even if he fell victim to Finn Russell's sharp thinking with a quick restart.

The Cardiff forward returned to his spot with his back turned, failed to locate the ball in the air and a cruel bounce ensured Darcy Graham went over to make it a one-score game.

Scotland hit the front for the first time in the 74th minute and condemned Wales to a 14th straight Six Nations defeat.

Wales team-mates have indulged in some gentle ribbing - cries of "look up" in training and Lord Botham, one of England's greatest all-rounders, contributed from Australia.

"Even grandad said something from the other side of the world. He always has a little say," said James.

"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 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."

Botham will win his 20th cap on Friday in an international career that has had bursts of activity.

He made his debut against Georgia in the 2020 autumn internationals, but was out in the cold from the summer of 2021 to the 2024 Six Nations.

A knee injury denied Botham the chance to push for Steve Tandy's first squad in November and he feared the worst when his phone rang in January despite strong form with Cardiff.

"When we get the call it's sometimes to say we're not involved," he said. "My heart sank a bit when I saw it and then Steve told me it was good news."

After watching Alex Mann, Josh Macleod, Aaron Wainwright, Taine Plumtree and Olly Cracknell get the action in the first two rounds, Botham was called into the 23 to face the Scots.

He grasped his chance when Plumtree was forced off after just nine minutes and the combative flanker is rewarded with a start at open-side against the Irish.

Botham will join forces in the back row with Cardiff team-mate Mann and in-form Wainwright, who trained fully at Aviva Stadium on Thursday morning after overcoming a knock to be named in the XV.

"We need to put in another performance and show what we've got," said Botham.

"Everyone's excited for it and I'm sure you can see where it's going. It's all improvements every game, so hopefully we can just keep going."

After impressing against Scotland, Botham will attempt to repeat the trick in Dublin with added back-pedaling for restarts.