Twenty-eight full internationals, including five Test Lions and an All Black, have been named for Paul James' testimonial match in Neath next month — an array of talent that underlines the former Wales prop's enduring popularity.
The galaxy of stars of the recent past have been named in the squads for the one-off game at The Gnoll on July 27.
A Paul James XV will take on a Classic Lions side in a match that will allow supporters to recall the way things were as a number of Welsh rugby greats come out of retirement to support James.
Dafydd Jones has become the latest international to commit to the match.
The former Scarlets back rower, who won 42 Test caps, will line up for the Select XV alongside Test Lions Lee Byrne, Shane Williams and Lee Mears, with New Zealand’s Nick Evans running the show from fly-half.
Leigh Davies, James Hook, Fa’ao Filise, Paul Griffen and Jonathan Thomas are also named in the 31-strong panel.
Two more Test Lions, Allan Bateman and Dafydd James, feature in the Classic Lions squad.
Old master Bateman is now well into middle age but only last term rolled back the years in a charity match to honour the memory of the late Gareth Williams.
Those who attended said that while one of Welsh rugby’s classiest players of the past 30 years took a bit longer to move from 0 to 60 nowadays, he still had his smooth-as-silk outside break and there were also a number of trademark low tackles of the sort that led to the former Maesteg, Neath and Richmond centre being known to one and all as The Clamp.
Delon Armitage will also be on Classic Lions duty, along with Ian Gough, Chris Wyatt, Julian Salvi, John Davies, Jason Forster and Alfie To’oala.
The 66-cap James retired as a player back in December after failing to recover from a shoulder injury.
He began his senior career with Neath before stepping up to the Ospreys, featuring in the region’s first-ever competitive match and going on to play 232 games for them, wrapped around a three-year stint with Bath.
Along the way, he established himself as one of the best-performing looseheads in the game, with his no-nonsense attitude earning widespread respect.
Tickets for match are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for children and concessions. Full details here.
SELECT XV SQUAD
Backs: Lee Byrne, Barry Davies, Shane Williams, Alex Lawson, Leigh Davies, David Bishop, Kevin James, Dylan Pugh, Richard Fussell, Anthony Carter, James Hook, Nick Evans, Paul Griffen, Andy Williams.
Forwards: Neil White, Paul Jones, Andrew Howell, Fa’ao Filise, Lloyd Isaac, Mark Breeze, Lee Mears, Jonathan Thomas, Lyndon Bateman, Hywel Jenkins, Jonathan Mills, Dafydd Jones, Rowland Phillips, Richie Pugh, Rob McCusker, Guy Mercer, Andy Powell.
CLASSIC LIONS
Backs: Delon Armitage, Richard Carter, Matt Jess, Dave Tiueti, Allan Bateman, Dafydd James, Jonathan Spratt, Chris Mayor, Aaron Bramwell, Gareth King, Gareth James, Gareth Bowen, Martin Roberts, Liam Davies.
Forwards: Adam Black, John Davies, Cai Griffiths, Chris Fortey, Matthew Dwyer, Neil Briggs, Ian Gough, Chris Wyatt, Ian Nimmo, Damien Hudd, Adam Jones, Chris Davies, Mike Denbee, Julian Salvi, Jason Forster, Nathan Strong, Alfie To’oala.
