The new life of Paul James, the unsung rugby hero whose son now plays for Wales

After nearly two decades of anchoring scrums at professional level, there isn't much Paul James didn't experience or see as a rugby player.

The years 2005-19 will be remembered as the halcyon days of the professional era for Welsh rugby, with five Six Nations titles, including four Grand Slams, and two Rugby World Cup semi-finals.

Decades down the line, rugby fans will be salivating over the mesmerising side-stepping of Shane Williams in his prime, the sheer class of Gavin Henson, and the explosiveness of Jonathan Davies, but it is the likes of James who allowed those heroes to perform as they did. Throughout the course of his marathon career, James was the man who did the unseen dirty work at the coal face, who put his neck on the line game after game to ensure his side had a platform.

The Ospreys legend won 66 caps for Wales, but it all began for him at the Gnoll.

"When I was growing up in Skewen all I wanted to do was play for Neath," he tells WalesOnline. "I remember going down to the Gnoll as a kid when my grandpa was a steward. He used to sneak us in through his legs!

"I was actually in the Swansea U19s set-up to begin with which was great because it was during the 'Rebel Season' when Swansea and Cardiff left. We used to follow the senior Swansea side up the country, and wherever they played we played but I soon moved back home to Neath.

"There were a lot of tough cookies in that Neath team. Even when they were out on nights out around the town, they were the boys, and nobody would mess with them.

"Myself, Duncan Jones, and Adam Jones were the new kids on the block, and I remember during my first few weeks I felt like a kid going to a new school. The Neath front-row back then was Andrew Howells, Paul Jones and Andrew Millward. They took us under their wing and looked after us.

"One of the toughest players I've played with was Alfie Mocelutu, who had a brick wall tattoo on his hand and another one on his chest. I remember asking him what they were for, and he just replied 'hard as f**k'. You'd run into him, and your body would just rattle, while Leighton Gerrard was another head banger. Those very early days at Neath did give me the right grounding to go out and have the career I had."

James realised another childhood dream in 2003 when he won his first cap for Wales in a Rugby World Cup warm-up Test match against Romania in Wrexham.

"My brother was playing up at the Dragons at the time, and he rung me saying 'I think you are going to be playing for Wales next week'," he recalls. "I said 'what are you on about?', and he replied 'I've just heard in training that you and a few of the boys are in. Mike Ruddock was coaching the Dragons at the time and he was taking the lead of that team. I then had a phone call confirming it and I was over the moon because it's every Welsh kid's dream.

"A day later I was tiling the floor in my house, the phone rung, and Steve Hansen was on the other end. He told me I hadn't made the World Cup squad, but first of all I told him to p**s off because I thought it was one of the boys winding me up, but he assured me it was him. He told me to stay fit because if there was any injuries then I'd be out to Australia with them. A couple of weeks into the World Cup, Duncan broke his leg so they flew me out but I didn't end up playing."

James would have to wait a long time for his second cap, with two neck surgeries over the following few years stalling his progress. However, under the guidance of innovative Ospreys coach Lyn Jones, James got his career back on track and went on to captain the Ospreys to a historic victory over Australia in 2006.

"Lyn Jones is one of the best coaches I've worked under," said James. "He was a maverick. There's so many stories I could tell you about Lyn but you couldn't print them!

"Captaining the Ospreys to victory over Australia was really special to me personally but I can't remember the game at all because I got sparked out during it.

"Those were really special days playing for the Ospreys, especially when we started signing all these world superstars. I remember coming into the car park one day and Justin Marshall came up to me and shook my hand which was a bit surreal given he was an All Blacks superstar.

"Jerry Collins, Filo Tiatia and Marty Holah were like heroes to a lot of the young boys growing up. You watch the All Blacks on TV and they'd be there, but next minute they are your teammates. The experience they brought was amazing.

"I know the regions went down the route of 'we can't afford to run a business like this' because they cost a lot of money, and we've got to develop from within. That's all well and good but I do think these big-name overseas players did a lot to develop young Welsh talent. When the Wales boys were away in camp they'd keep the season going. When we had these big-name All Blacks the crowd was a lot bigger and we sold more jerseys but once they left the crowds disappeared a bit, which is sad to see.

"They really set the standard, and they created such a strong culture with their attitude to train and play. They were really nice guys as well and were mentors to the young boys. If any player needed help they'd always be quick to give it to you. Those boys improved the likes of myself, Justin Tipuric, along with other players, and were worth their weight in gold."

After six long years without a sniff of a Wales call-up, James' long international exile finally came to an end when he was selected by Warren Gatland to face New Zealand in Cardiff back in 2009. But there was a catch: he was selected out of position against the best side in the world.

"When I got named in the squad by Warren Gatland in 2009 I was over the moon," he said. "Gats named the team to play the All Blacks and he named me at tighthead. It was weird because I was ecstatic I'd been picked but s***ting myself because I was playing tighthead. I'd never played tighthead before, and he never even spoke to me about it. I thought to myself 'f*****g hell, here we go, this is a sink or swim moment'.

"I need to emphasise tighthead is a totally different position to loosehead. You could be the best scrummaging loosehead in the world but the worst scrumming tighthead in the world. The best way to describe it is being right-handed but being expected to write perfectly left-handed, but I must have done okay because Gats kept picking me. I was fortunate to be in a good squad which won Six Nations Grand Slams but the World Cup in New Zealand was my favourite time in a Wales jersey."

So, who was the toughest opponent he ever faced in a scrum?

"The old France prop Nicholas Mas, without a shadow of a doubt," said James. "The shorter tightheads were the hardest to get under in the scrum. I remember playing against him in Cardiff. We had a good scrum at the time with myself, Richard Hibbard and Bomb [Adam Jones]. I put everything into Mas, and really targeted him but I was like 'f*****g hell, this guy isn't budging'. He was like a rock."

As with any career, there are highs and lows. James was fortunate enough to enjoy far more of the former than the latter. But are there any regrets?

"Those European quarter-final defeats with the Ospreys against Saracens and Biarritz are among the biggest regrets of my career," he said. "We definitely had the side to go further but rugby is all about the day.

"That Biarritz game away was the real sickener. At the last play of the game the referee put his arm out to signal a penalty but quickly dropped it back down. We didn't get the penalty and ended up losing. We probably feel we should have done better in Europe but knockout rugby is all on the day and it's about who deals with the pressure the best.

"Obviously losing to France in the World Cup semi-final as well. If we'd have won that I'm adamant we'd have beaten the All Blacks in the final, I'm convinced of it."

James also enjoyed a couple of seasons in Bath where he played a pivotal role in transforming the West Country side into arguably the best scrummaging unit in the English Premiership.

"When I left the Ospreys for the first time it wasn't on great terms," he admitted. "I clashed with Andrew Hore and the Ospreys were trying to save money. Bath came in with a good offer, and I was blown away by the facilities at Farleigh House so I decided to go.

"I became a better player playing in England. They told me they were signing me for my scrummaging and when I was there I believe we had the best scrum in the Premiership. I also loved playing with Francois Louw who is one of, if not, the best player I've played with.

"I'm glad I went back to finish my career at the Ospreys, though."

After hanging up his boots in 2018, James' first thought was to walk away from the game but the Ospreys offered him a job coaching their academy. Alongside running a bistro and cocktail bar called Ten 21 in Neath town centre, James is responsible for nurturing the next generation of Ospreys and Wales forwards. It is a job which gives him great satisfaction, and he is hugely optimistic for the Ospreys' future given the quality of player he can see coming through the academy.

"I didn't really know if I wanted to go into coaching because as a player I always used to say once I finished playing I'd be done, but I really enjoy it," he said. "Me and Andrew took over the U18s this year as well. We had a group of boys we gelled together and we went on to win the U18s competition.

"The clear standout is Morgan Morse who is going to be special. There are some nice props coming through like Ellis Fackrell and Kian Hier. There's 11 Ospreys academy players in the Wales U20s squad.

"It's been difficult with what's going on in Welsh rugby with budgets getting cut. The senior team need the academy boys ready quicker because they have smaller squads.

"One block you might be trying to improve the individual on a personal one-on-one basis, and then the next block will be team environment. You go into block games and you are trying to win as a team. We've also got a lot of youngsters playing for Swansea. I go down there once a week to make sure the props are good. It's rewarding to see the boys come through and play for Wales."

What makes his job even more special is the fact he gets to coach his son Dylan, who is a chip off the old block packing down at loosehead for the Ospreys academy and Wales U18s.

"It was a little bit awkward to start because you don't want to be seen to be doing him any favours so I suppose I'm overly harsh with him on everything," he said. "Hooky [James Hook] told me one day 'chill out he's doing well'.

"You can't be too friendly with them because the players have got to know the boundaries but we always try to have a laugh and a joke with the boys to get them to open up. What you'll find with a lot of the youngsters is when they come into the environment they'll be sh*****g themselves, and go into their shells too much.

"To get the best out of them we have a laugh with them but tell them straight when it's time to work. It seems to be working."