Foot in mouth syndrome

Tom James may have the attributes on the pitch to be a very fine winger for Wales, but off the pitch he really has made himself look like a naive young man.

Undoubtedly the journalist he spoke to at the Western Mail would have been lapping up the ill-judged and arrogant comments that poured out of the Cardiff Blue players mouth.

“I thought it was rubbish,” said James. “It was pointless going on.

“I know it was a Welsh cap but to me it was nothing.

“I was told I was going to be a big part of the game.

“I didn’t get to touch the ball. As soon as I went on we were defending. It was a massive disappointment – unbelievable!”

 “There is no reason why I can’t play on the right wing.

“The only reason I play on the left is that I’m left footed. It’s ridiculous.

“I still think I’m better than Mark Jones, who didn’t stand out like Shane did.

“Shane is the best winger, but I think I’m second best.

“I’ve been playing well and picked up two man-of-the-match awards for the Blues towards the end of the season and training in South Africa went really well.

“I assumed it would be Shane on one wing and me on the other. I thought I would have two starts. There was no reason why they couldn’t play me in the first Test.

“I didn’t expect to play in Australia last year, but this time I had high hopes and they came crashing down around me.”

Besides pondering why these quotes are stretched out agonizingly into ten paragraphs, it doesn’t take Dr Gwyn Jones to work out that James has shot himself in the foot with the verbal equivalent of a machine gun.

Poor Mark Jones gets it in the neck from a lot of people, but from your own teammate? There could be Henson-gate sized trouble ahead...however much James regrets his outburst.

Does Jones deserve his criticism? And can James’s comments be justified in any way?