Barbados Butch on Bath goals
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:51
Home is where the heart is: Bok flyhalf Butch James at Bath
South African and Bath star Butch James chats exclusively to rugby365’s Jan de Koning about his continued love for the game and the clubs ambitions for the season ahead.
The former Super 14 Sharks star has had none stop rugby for almost two years, including both European Challenge Cup and World Cup winning campaigns, and would be forgiven if he was desperate for a rest.
James though maintains that he is still enjoying the challenge of competition every weekend and is excited by what he and his Bath teammates can achieve although he did admit that he was looking forward to a two week holiday which his club has handed him.
Rather than asking for it himself, his club have apparently had a long term plan for the No.10 and have set aside this two week period for him to get some much needed rest.
Like anyone would therefore, James is heading to the Caribbean. He does though regret having not booked a return to South African so that he can watch his former province in action as they complete with the Blue Bulls for the Currie Cup.
"I have just been given a break now, I have two weeks off [from Monday, October 20], I booked a holiday a month or so ago when the coach told me I would get two weeks off," he said.
"If I hadn't booked the holiday I would definitely have headed back to Durban to watch the Final - [I'm] off to Barbados to try and get some sun, not much sun here.
"[Of course] it is nice to let the body recover a bit and get back to normal, [but] things have been going well, we are enjoying it and we have a nice young team here - there's some real quality players and we are playing an enjoyable game a well - it is good fun and I'm still enjoying it."
When talking about his team, and the club as a whole, James says he is constantly overwhelmed by the support there is for the team and of how much of a pleasure it is to be apart of the new successful era of the Premiership side.
"[They’re] Quite a proud club, they have generally done well, but they've been through a lean patch in the last 10 years or so, then we won a trophy [European Challenge Cup] last year so it was quite nice to win again and be on top of the league for most of the season.
"The whole town, on a Saturday, is just full of Bath jerseys and there is a just a buzz - it is a real rugby town and the ground, although not that big [The Rec takes 10,600 fans compared to the 50,000 at Absa Stadium in Durban] - but weather it is raining or snowing, it is always full and they make a good noise as well, so it is a real rugby town and a great club to play for,” he explained.
With the recent success of the ECC in the bag the 29 year-old says Steve Meehan and the squad have set themselves the target of at least one of the really big titles this year and, while they may have suffered a small setback, both the Premiership
and Heineken Cup remain real prospects for Michael Lipman and his men.
"Our main focus is obviously the [Guinness] Premiership and the Heineken Cup, the EDF Energy Cup we are not too focussed on, it is mainly the Premiership and the Heineken Cup - we had a bit of a hiccup, we lost to Toulouse [16-18 in the First Round of the Heineken Cup] - and in the Heineken Cup you have to finish top of your section to go through, we obviously play them again back at home [at The Rec], so we just need to win that one.
"In the Premiership we are top of the standings so we just have to keep on playing well and try to get to those play-offs."
Interview opportunity courtesy of Rugby Expo 2008, which takes place on November 17-18 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London. For more information, visit www.rugbyexpo.com
