But while Sir Ian Botham’s greatest exploits against the men from down under were on the cricket field, most notably the 1981 Ashes series, his teenage grandson will be looking to make his mark for Wales Under 20 at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Georgia.
Born in Cardiff while his father, Liam, was playing rugby in the Welsh capital, Jim is one of the pin-up boys for the Welsh Exiles. He has already won caps for Wales Under 18, Under 20 and Sevens, but the next few weeks in Tbilisi will be the acid test for him and his Welsh team-mates.
A year ago Wales went into the tournament as one of the favourites having completed a first Six Nations Grand Slam. But they paid a heavy price for losing two group games by a single point and eventually finished seventh.
Now they face three testing matches against Australia, reigning champions England and Samoa to determine whether or not they can battle for the title. First up on Wednesday are the young Wallabies.
“With my family background it will definitely be nice to have a go at the Australians and everyone is excited about that fixture because not many have played against them before. It is going to be a fresh experience and we expect it to be quick,” said back-row man Botham, who is in the Cardiff Blues academy.
“We all know what Super Rugby is like and I’m sure they’ll be wondering what they can do against the northern hemisphere sides. Then the big one for us is going to be England – it always is, because of the rivalry.
“Our fitness is good and it will be interesting to see what the result is. We also have a lot of strength in depth.”
Botham came into the Welsh side half-way through the Six Nations having been on sevens duty in Wellington with Wales Under 20 team mate Owen Lane prior to that. He made an immediate impact in the big win over Scotland, scoring a try in the 65-34 win.
He was a replacement in the 41-27 home win over Ireland, who beat Wales by a point in the Junior World Championship last year, and went on to reach the final, before starting again in the 40-20 defeat in France.
“I came in half-way through the Six Nations because I was away playing sevens, which was a great experience. We played away in Scotland and had a great win there,” said Botham.
“The Welsh Exiles pathway has worked well for me. I started in the system when I was at Sedbergh and it was a long journey at first when I was playing with the Under 18s.
“It was a round trip of around 560 miles in those days, but it is a lot easier now that I’m living in Cardiff. The Exiles route is a lot clearer now for anyone who wants to try to play for Wales.
“The first few weeks were hard for me, but once I got to grips with the travelling everything was fine. My career keeps on going up, but you never know what’s going to happen in the future.
“I am loving being a part of the Blues academy and, hopefully, my career will continue in the same way.”
Wales Under 20 at the Junior World Championships
Wednesday, 31 May: Wales v Australia (17.30 BST)
Sunday, 4 June: Wales v England (17.30 BST)
Thursday, 8 June: Wales v Samoa (10.00 BST)
Wales Under 20 Squad
FORWARDS
Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Blues), Sid Blackmore (Bath Rugby), James Botham (Cardiff Blues), Callum Bradbury (Cardiff Blues), Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues), Will Griffiths (Ospreys), Owen Hughes (Newport Gwent Dragons), Scott Jenkins (Scarlets), Will Jones (captain, Ospreys), Shane Lewis-Hughes (Cardiff Blues), Topm Mably (Cardiff Blues),Sean Moore (Pontypridd), Ellis Shipp (Newport Gwent Dragons), Steff Thomas (Scarlets), Aled Ward (Cardiff Blues)
BACKS
Dane Blacker (Cardiff Blues), Ryan Conbeer (Scarlets), Connor Edwards (Newport Gwent Dragons), Joe Goodchild (Newport Gwent Dragons), Reuben Morgan-Williams (Ospreys), Ben Jones (Cardiff Blues), Phil Jones (Ospreys), Owen Lane (Cardiff Blues), Cameron Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Ioan Nicholas (Scarlets), Arwel Robson (Newport Gwent Dragons), Jared Rosser (Newport Gwent Dragons), Will Talbot-Davies (Newport Gwent Dragons)
