"Butch should start at 10 for Boks" says Watson

Here's a bit I did for SARugby.com - Butch James is backed to be Springboks' starting fly-half for the World Cup by club-mate Luke Watson

Demi-god, prodigal son or rock star? Butch gets a special reception in SA

Bath and Springbok fly-half Butch James flew back to South Africa this week for his wedding. But it turns out he had more than one pressing engagement, with the World Cup-winner also attending a glitzy press conference where it was announced he would be joining the Golden Lions in May. Here's my take on the razzmatazz...

Butch James certainly had one heck of a stag party.
Most of us would settle for a night out with the boys – Butch was
seemingly granted demi-god status by a grateful nation.
The South Africa fly-half flew back to his native country earlier this week in readiness for his wedding on Saturday. While out there, he became caught up in a publicity stunt that would make Phineas Barnum and Max Clifford blush.
It has been an open secret for some time that James will be heading back to South Africa at the end of this season for a final hurrah with the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions.
On Tuesday, the Lions ‘unveiled’ their new signing. This required James to fly into a Joburg airport on a private jet supplied by one of the Lions’ minted owners.
Stairs were duly rolled up to the doors and Butch descended to the Tarmac amid a chorus of sycophantic applause from men in blazers.
In front of him was a sea of paparazzi, all desperate to capture this happy day.
I do not know if there was a marching band present.
It was like a prodigal son returning from a self-imposed exile. Or a minor royal visiting some neglected corner of the empire. Or a rock star
returning for a ‘Welcome Home’ gig. Or a bit of all three.
Verily, the reception that greeted Pope Benedict on these shores in September had fewer bells and whistles.
But it made James look like a pawn in the Lions’ publicity machine.
Especially as he was wearing a Golden Lions shirt with the number 10 on the back. With the name ‘James’ above it.
James was promptly shunted in front of the microphones. He
explained how one day he’d tell his children about how great it had been to be involved with such a club.
Butch James is an incredible specimen, a man of such super-human patience and dedication that he has bounced back from five knee reconstructions and two bust shoulders.
Most men would have given up competitive sport completely in the face of such serious injuries and long lay-offs, let alone continue to play at the pinnacle of the game.
More than any other player, he has shaped the way Bath have played over the past four years. His ingenuity and flamboyance on the pitch have made him a joy to behold on The Rec.
But I think the Lions have got a bit ahead of themselves here – and James has been dragged along.
James remains a Bath player until the end of the season and it’s Bath who are paying his not inconsiderable wages at the moment.
Getting James to put on a Golden Lions shirt when he still has more than three months at Bath is a touch previous, in my book.
But at least the shenanigans in Johannesburg show what passion the South Africans have for their rugby – and for James.
And I suppose that in turn should make us grateful that we’ve had him plying his trade at The Rec for the past four years.

South African knight rides to the rescue at The Rec - again

Former Springbok scrum-half Michael Claassens has today signed a deal that will keep him at Bath Rugby until 2013. Here's my take on the signing. For an interview with Claassens and more of my thoughts, see The Bath Chronicle on Thursday, January 6.

A very good history of Bath during the rugby club’s heyday has recently been published. But when the final word comes to be written on Bath Rugby in the 21st century, it will be a modest South African who couldn’t speak English when he arrived in the city who should receive a chapter all of his own.
For the second time in his career, Michael Claassens rode to Bath Rugby’s rescue today and restored a sense of stability.
A lot of things feel like they are up in the air at The Rec at the moment.
Club skipper Luke Watson has announced he is heading back to South Africa at the end of the season, while World Cup-winner Butch James has also indicated he’d be keen to pack his bags swiftly enough should Bath release him from his contract. Couple that with the speculation that’s been doing the rounds about a new coaching team being lined up by owner Bruce Craig, and the storm clouds of uncertainty were beginning to look ominously heavy.
This morning, Claassens’ peroxide blond locks pierced those clouds when the club announced the scrum-half had signed a new two-year deal.
After four years at The Rec, Claassens could have left Bath at the end of this season owing the club and its supporters precisely nothing.
It was a bold enough move for the Kroonstad-born former Springbok to bring his non-English speaking wife over here four years ago. By upping sticks and leaving South Africa, the eight-cap international was effectively turning his back on further appearances in the gold and green, and taking a step into the unknown.
What Claassens has delivered for Bath since then is season after season of graft, spark and honesty.
A year-and-half ago, this softly spoken gent was handed a poisoned chalice when he was asked to captain the club following the summer’s drugs scandal.
In those circumstances, the captaincy was always going to be a thankless task - but Claassens stepped up and bore it all with an unceasing attitude of composure, politeness and unblinking stoicism. And by the end of the campaign, after a torrid beginning, Bath were playing the most attractive rugby of the Premiership.
With his best mate and half-back partner Butch James more than likely to be heading home at the end of the season, it would have been the easy option for Claassens to follow him back to South Africa,
That he isn’t, but is once again sticking by Bath during a tough period, should be a source of gratitude for every Bath supporter. If you’ve any festive port left over, then you should be preparing a toast.

Butch, KP and the Ashes

When Bath Rugby fly-half Butch James, pictured, tunes in to watch the Ashes, there's one batsman in particular he'll be keeping an eye on.

As a schoolboy, James played in the same side as England's Kevin Pietersen – and even recalls appearing above the former skipper in the batting order.

The two were pupils at Maritzburg College in South Africa, although James was a couple of years above Pietersen.

"He was a good player but there was nothing back then to suggest he would go on to achieve what he has," said James, who kept wicket for his school before going on to represent his country at rugby.
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"I tried my hand at everything at school and it was only when I had finished high school at 18 that I decided that I really wanted to give rugby a go," he said. "It was between cricket and rugby."

Boks get a serious schooling in preparation

Okay, so here's your starter for ten.

Which rugby team has a high performance centre, a biokineticist who ensures players are in peak condition, the latest video analysis at its disposal, a physiotherapist who is available daily and international coaches who are used on a consultancy basis?

It could be a Premiership club. But it's not even a senior club – it's a school.

To be precise, it's Maritzburg College in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It's the school at which current Bath Rugby players Butch James and Pieter Dixon learnt the game. And it sounds like a young rugby player's dream.
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As the limping, tarnished Springboks prepare to hobble into Twickenham this weekend following their ignominious loss to Scotland and two failed drug tests, Maritzburg College is a reminder of just how seriously South Africa takes its rugby.

You know the college takes a professional approach to the game when its website states that the school is sponsored by the local Renault dealership.

Moreover, Maritzburg appointed a full-time rugby administrator in 2009. "His role," says the website "is to scout talent and to keep the school at the cutting edge of technology through video analysis and up-to-date coaching courses."

Reading that, you wouldn't fancy sending your 15-year-old son on his school rugby trip to KwaZulu-Natal, would you? Sounds like you'd be sending a lamb to the slaughter.

It makes a bit of a change to school rugby in my day. Our rugby master had once enjoyed some representative honours but his view of analysis was to scream at us whenever there was a knock-on. Similarly, I doubt he went on any sophisticated coaching courses, despite the school having a proud rugby tradition.

The tale of Maritzburg College's rugby department says much about how the game has developed in the past 20 years. I remember reading in Lawrence Dallaglio's autobiography how he was once forced to lug all his boarding school kit from one side of school to the other after being dropped off at the wrong end.

"That," he wrote, "was the only weights I did until the game went professional". Those aren't his exact words, but they capture the gist.

The 'strength and conditioning' culture of professionalism has now clearly filtered down to schools and Maritzburg College is evidently proud of the environment it fosters.

Its website continues: "Outside specialists are brought in regularly to address coaches on specific issues, whether from a rugby, fitness, conditioning, nutritional or refereeing perspective.

"Our High Performance Centre is run by a biokineticist, who ensures that systems are in place whereby boys are regularly monitored with regards to fitness and strength conditioning."

Almost as a cocky afterthought, it adds: "Mark Steele (Springbok conditioning coach and an Old Boy) has been used on a consultancy basis."

If those are the resources that go into a school rugby team, then imagine the resources the Springboks have at their disposal. The story of Maritzburg College is one that all England fans should bear in mind as South Africa arrive at HQ. These Springboks are serious about their rugger.

The mysterious case of Butch James and the injury-prone gelding

Over my mid-morning toast and Marmite, the following had me spluttering with the ferocity of Blackadder's General Melchett.

"Butch James yesterday confirmed he would be a force to be reckoned with at Riccarton."

Crikey, I thought, Butch is back from injury earlier than expected. I've missed a trick here.

The New Zealand Press Association story continued: "It will be a much fitter Butch James who treks south for a second bid on the New Zealand Cup in Christchurch next month."

The New Zealand Cup? Never heard of it.

Then the truth dawned. It turns out there's a horse called Butch James. An eight-year-old gelding, to be precise.

But then the story got even better. Apparently, old Butch was up against a horse that could easily be owned by Bath Rugby's chairman.

"Butch James loomed up outside Bruce Almighty," wrote the report ominously, before offering a more sober description of Butch's eventual victory.

There's obviously a metaphor in there somewhere but I'm not going to start making over-contrived analogies between racehorses and fly-halves (besides, I did that last season).

But given the injury travails our very own Butch has endured over the past two years, I couldn't help smiling at the remarks made by Adrian Bull, trainer of the equine Butch.

"We probably weren't fit enough last year," said Mr Bull. "This year he is."

I'm sure both Butch Jameses wish they could agree with that sentiment.

Fans pray for miracle recovery as Butch James's return put back two months

Butch James has just tweeted that he is "on track" for a return to action in January.
The commendably upbeat South African shows no signs of frustration at this - despite the fact that, two months ago, Bath Rugby issued a statement saying he'd be back from his Tri-Nations shoulder injury in November.
The difference between a November return and a January return must seem like an eternity to Bath fans at the moment. Bath are currently lacking any kind of zip and creativity in the 10 and 12 channels, and - just like this time last year - the big South African is conspicious by his absence.
As the recent losses to Gloucester and Biarritz emphasised, Bath's field-kicking is becoming increasingly erratic and the side are missing the World Cup winner's repertoire of moves, both with the boot and with ball in hand.
Bath scrum-half Michael Claassens is yet to gel with Sam Vesty as his half-back partner, and he is clearly missing James, with whom he enjoys a close bond both on and off the field.
Inside centre Olly Barkley, too, seems to have misplaced half his bag of tricks in James' absence.
Not all of Bath's woes are attributable to James being on the sidelines. Far from it. The Bath pack remains at sixes and sevens, unable to assert itself for more than 10 minutes. Even James would struggle behind its arthritic set-piece.
But as James's triumphant return from injury midway through last season proved, he is - in that grossly over-used adjective - talismanic.
His prolonged absence has already got some Bath fans reaching for the prayer mat. "January?!" tweeted one in disbelief at the news of the November return. "Here's to a miracle recovery..."

Butch is looking pretty... butch

The Bath Rugby squad have been put through their paces at a series of pre-season beastings, but their fly-half Butch James - who is on international duty with the Springboks - isn't exactly taking it easy, judging by these pictures taken by the excellent South African sports photographer Steve Haag.
James, who will find out tomorrow if he is in South Africa's squad for the forthcoming home matches in the Tri-Nations, was doing a spot of training with captain John Smit and prop BJ Botha in Durban.
Nice work, Steve.

Butch stays in the headlines

​Bath Rugby playmaker Butch James has been named in South Africa’s squad for this year’s Tri-Nations, raising questions about who will wear the number 10 shirt for Bath at the start of the Premiership season.
It also raises questions about when it ceases to become worthwhile for a club to retain the services of a player who could feasibly be on duty for almost half the domestic season. Such an issue is already causing a difference of opinion among the Bath supporters.
Should Boks coach Peter de Villiers select James for South Africa's home leg of the Tri-Nations, then that debate will only intensify. The question of 'Will Butch stay in Bath or won't he?' hovered over The Rec throughout the second half of last season. Don't expect it to disappear any time soon.

Butch's South Africa dream gets butchered

Butch James has been strung up by more red tape than you'd find at a Communist Party crime scene.
A month or so ago James complained to me that the Sharks had "pulled the rug out from underneath him" when he was poised to return to the Durban-based club. Now it seems the rug has been pulled again, this time by Premier Rugby Ltd.

Who will wave the wand at The Rec next season?

Just as every rugby side needs its workhorses, every side needs its magicians. And I fear there could be a shortage of wands at Bath Rugby next season.
Magicians are the players who, in attack, can bewitch the opposition, either with a scything sidestep, an unpredictable play or a preternatural act of vision that puts teammates into space.
Among the Bath players who cast the most potent of spells is full-back Nick Abendanon. His runs from deep get fans on their feet and put Bath on the front foot. The fact he currently lies third in the Guinness Premiership chart for most metres covered with ball in hand is nothing short of remarkable given that he has missed six weeks with injury.
So it is all to the good that Abendanon has committed his future to Bath, despite the offer of a move to new Super 15 franchise Melbourne Rebels.
Alongside Abendanon, I’d confer magician status on Butch James, Joe Maddock and Julian Salvi. And what’s worrying me is that none of that trio may be at The Rec next season.
Salvi, not unexpectedly, is heading home to Canberra to fill the shoes vacated by George Smith at the ACT Brumbies, although there is the possibility of him playing at Bath next season until the start of the Super 15 in December.
From the moment I first met Salvi, I never felt he would stay at Bath for the full two seasons, as his deal allowed. With his partner and young son remaining in Australia, the smart money was always on him delivering a short, sharp, shock to the Guinness Premiership before heading back to the Southern Hemisphere and a tilt at the Wallaby side for the 2011 World Cup.
But what a season he has provided for Bath. Fearless and ferocious, he has proved himself a Brutus at the breakdown, playing with sufficient ruthlessness and tirelessness to reduce ex-Bath captain and openside Michael Lipman to a distant memory. Salvi’s cheeky 22 drop-outs and unlikely ruck steals will linger in the memory long after he is back in Australia.
So Salvi’s fate looks reasonably clear. But what of James and Maddock?
James is like a thoroughbred racehorse that’s been everywhere and won everything but opinion is divided about whether the mount’s knees are up to another Durban Derby. The authorities back in South Africa are pondering whether it’s worth shelling out a small fortune to get him back on his home track.
It’s clear James wants to return to South Africa, despite his declaration back in October 2008 that he was a “one club man” and would be remaining at Bath until 2012.
Frustratingly for Bath, since the start of his current three-year deal – which kicked in at the start of the current season – James has played a total of just 162 minutes of rugby, sidelined as he has been by a serious knee injury and then a heavily bruised shoulder. No wonder the Bath management are keen to get more time out of him, notwithstanding his indefatigable efforts since he joined the club in 2007.
Last week James made remarks to me that made it clear his people were seeking a way for him to return to his homeland. And the vibe coming from Durban over the past week has reinforced the impression that a return to the Sharks is likely, provided that a deal can be struck on compensating Bath for the loss of a truly world-class playmaker. One source close to the Sharks has said Bath are seeking compensation of more than £400,000.
So the big question is whether the Sharks, in conjunction with the South African Rugby Union, are prepared to buy him out of his Bath deal. The answer to that is not yet clear, although it would benefit all parties if clarity came sooner rather than later.
Clarity, too, is needed over Maddock’s future. Out of sorts at the start of the season, last year’s leading Guinness Premiership try-scorer was back in excellent form before the recent hiatus in Bath’s fixture list. He may be getting on a bit but his sidestep and killer instinct are as sharp as ever. Just ask Worcester’s Chris Latham, whom he embarrassed a few weeks ago.
As has been seen with Abendanon, players invariably perform better once they know where they’re going to be the following year. After four months of negotiations with the club, I understand Maddock is now days away from making a decision about whether to stay or pursue options back in his native New Zealand or on the Continent. It will boil down to lifestyle issues for his family as much as rugby. Bath fans will be praying the little magician stays put.