Overview
- In the Cardiff loss to Scotland, Botham had his back turned at Finn Russell’s quick restart, allowing Darcy Graham to score in a 26-23 defeat.
- He said Ian Botham FaceTimed from Australia and smirked about the lapse, describing it as a lighthearted sledge.
- The flanker reported daily ribbing in training, with Dafydd Jenkins and others shouting “Jim, look up!” as a reminder.
- Head coach Steve Tandy kept faith, handing Botham a first Wales start in over a year at No 7 for Friday’s match in Dublin.
- Wales are ranked outsiders as they try to end 14 successive Six Nations defeats, and Botham admitted he initially feared Tandy’s call would drop him before hearing he was selected.