Hook poses alongside the south Wales air ambulance

James Hook has the perfect temperament to handle the fame and fortune of World Cup success, according to the man who knows him best - his dad.

Richard Hook, an air ambulance paramedic, told the BBC's new "Sport Wales" programme that his son will take everything in his stride, even if he becomes one of the most famous players on the planet.

"James is totally unflappable - anything you throw at James, he tends to take with both hands, literally, and runs with it. Nothing fazes him at all," he said.

In the first edition of Sport Wales, Hook junior joins his father in the south Wales air ambulance and also shares unseen footage of him playing rugby when he was seven years old.

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Many experts are predicting that fly-half Hook, 22, will shine at the World Cup, providing Wales' best chance of progressing beyond the quarter-finals.

It has been a dramatic rise to the top - two years ago, he was playing club rugby for Neath in the Welsh Premier Division.

But now he is regarded as the most talented Welsh player of his generation with the potential to achieve worldwide fame and huge riches if he plays his best rugby over the next two months.

"This World Cup is a potentially huge springboard for James, both as a player on the field and with some commercial activity off the field," said Hook's manager Matthew Lewis.

I just want to concentrate on personally having a good World Cup and, more importantly, on Wales having a good one James Hook

"We look at the Jonny Wilkinson's of this world, but who's to say that James Hook couldn't be the same - the Welsh equivalent of Jonny Wilkinson over the next four or five years."

Success for Hook on the field would see agents and companies fighting to associate themselves with the young fly-half.

"Everyone's looking for the next big thing. I think there will be competition from brands and agencies for him," said Nick Keller from Benchmark Sports Management.

"The key thing is to keep his feet on the ground, to keep on playing very, very good rugby.

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"Creating a team of people that are going to help you deliver on the pitch is as important as the people who are going to help you deliver that financial success of the pitch."

Hook himself was typically relaxed as he spoke to Sport Wales before heading off to France.

"I've thought about how much I want to have a good World Cup, but the profile and things that come with it - if I have a bad World Cup, my profile will go down.