Hard-man Paul was worth his weight in gold at Neath

PAUL James was one of the hardest men I played with. He could take a punch or kick to the head no problem and still carry on like it hadn’t happened!

I started my rugby career at Neath at a very similar time to Paul and his brother and we quickly became very good friends. We went on to play a lot of rugby together for Neath, the Ospreys, and Wales and had a fair bit of success along the way. That’s why I was delighted to support his testimonial match yesterday alongside a host of my former team-mates including Ryan Jones, Gavin Henson, Adam Jones and Lee Byrne. It was great to get the band back together and see all the guys again after what had been a long time.

It was a bit of a struggle for me to get through the game and as I’m a lot older now I was a bit wary of some of the bigger lads getting hold of me, but it was a great occasion for a great bloke.

Paul was worth his weight in gold as a player. He’s a legendary figure in Neath and you don’t get many props who can rock up to a Test match and be able to play both sides of the scrum to a very good level.

Paul could do exactly that. He should have had a lot more caps for Wales and I’m sure he would have done had he played in a different era. The fact Adam and Duncan Jones and Gethin Jenkins were around at the same time didn’t help him!

That shouldn’t detract from what he achieved though and I was just pleased to play a part in recognising his career.

I wish him all the best in his future career coaching the younger players at the Ospreys – the next generation at Llandarcy couldn’t wish for a better man to learn from.