Such is the contrary way in which sport sometimes works that at the time Wales are trying to replace the power game that brought them success in Europe with something more refined, their most naturally talented back languishes in international isolation just over the border in Gloucester. James Hook won the last of his 81 caps during the 2015 World Cup when, despite a three-quarter line depleted by injuries, he played the role of an extra, there but not noticed.
If that marked the end of his Test career, and at the age of 31 the three-year contract he signed with Ospreys from next summer will probably be his last, it will be an anticlimactic way for him to go. For he was one of the few players in the game’s dark age a couple of years ago – when the ball spent far more time chasing clouds than it did through hands – who carried a torch, an instinctive individual who resisted attempts to programme him.
It was a moment of inspiration from Hook that set Wales on their way to the grand slam in 2008, Warren Gatland’s first campaign in charge, when he made space for himself at Twickenham to create a try for Lee Byrne, and for a while the coaches felt they had to have him in the team, whether at fly-half, inside-centre or full-back, because of his ability to create something out of nothing. Once the emphasis changed from looking to win to setting out not to lose, his role diminished and his decision in 2011 to leave Ospreys for Perpignan provided an excuse to marginalise him.
Wales have spent much of the past three years cursing their inability to finish opportunities, due not least to lamentable skill levels under pressure. So why continually ignore a player singled out 10 years ago by Nigel Melville in his then column for the Guardian after he watched an under-21 international between Wales and England? “Hook,” he wrote, “was the architect, always looking for opportunities to run the ball, looking for space and playing what he saw, not some prejudged game sent on from the sidelines. He was prepared to back himself, recognise opportunities and take them. It was most refreshing.”
While Wales were fumbling through November, winning three matches in laboured fashion after being run off the Principality Stadium by Australia, Hook was with Gloucester, never expecting the phone to ring. “Maybe I would have had a chance if Wales had changed their style a few years ago, but maybe not,” he says while preparing for today’s meeting with Northampton, another club yet to put together a winning run.
“Wales were successful with the way they played and you can see why they want to become more expansive, because that is the way the game is going, but it may have come too late for me. Who knows whether going back to Wales will salvage my international career. Rugby is a funny game but I am realistic and recognise I am getting on a bit now. All I can do is stay fit and play well. Everything else is out of my control. I do not have any regrets: I have enjoyed my career and it is not over yet.”
Hook was in Cardiff to watch Australia set light to Wales on bonfire night. “It was not the result I wanted but it was a joy to watch Australia playing the game the way it should be played,” he says. “It is good that rugby is changing from kicking and chasing: people pay a lot of money for tickets and want to see excitement. The Wallabies had ball-playing forwards and so many options when they went to the line. It is the way Wales are trying to play but at some point they are going to have to change the personnel.”
When Hook returns to Ospreys he will be considered primarily at inside-centre, covering at full-back and at outside-half when the region’s two No10s, Dan Biggar and Sam Davies, are on international duty, a pair who sum up a dilemma facing the Wales interim head coach, Rob Howley, going into the Six Nations. Biggar is an expert kicker who prefers to stand deep to give himself time while Davies is in the mould of Beauden Barrett, Bernard Foley and George Ford, standing close to the line to maximise his attacking options.
“Dan was the man with the kicking game but Sam takes the ball flat with runners either side of him,” says Hook. “When you have a 10 like that, you want to run off him and it puts defenders on their toes. Dan has done well for Wales and it comes down to selection. Wales do need a distributor at 10 or 12: Jamie Roberts has been a big player in the centre over the years but is it time for Scott Williams who is suited to an expansive game? England have a ball-playing 12 in Owen Farrell but that has not been the way Wales have wanted to play.
“Everyone knows Wales’s performances in November were far from perfect but they would have taken three wins from four at the start. They are aware they have to be better in the Six Nations given the way England and Ireland are playing and the improvement made by Scotland. They will need to up their performances and they have the talent, although there is a need in Wales for more skill-based coaching at the younger age levels.”
Hook says he has no issue with Gatland or Howley. “Coaches have their opinions and Jamie and Jonathan Davies have been hugely successful for Wales,” he says. “It started to fizzle out for me after the 2011 World Cup, picking up caps but not playing a major part. I am the size I am and sometimes it is frustrating but I fitted into their philosophy early on and they gave me opportunities. After that I spoke to them about what I needed to do to get into the team but really there was not much I could have done.
“I have had a wonderful career which has another chapter to run. Joining Perpignan was a lifestyle change for someone who had not often been out of the west of Glamorgan and I made friends f or life there. Gloucester was another career move I cherish; Kingsholm is so much like Welsh grounds of old, like Pontypridd and Neath, blessed with an atmosphere generated by people who know and enjoy their rugby. I would advise any player to give moving to another country a go: it did not work out for me in international career terms but it has been worth it.”
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