Dafydd Rhys James (born 24 July 1975) is a Welsh former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer who played on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

or in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2001. James was born in

Mufulira Mufulira, is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. Mufulira means "Place of Abundance and Peace". The town developed around the Mufulira Copper Mine in the 1930s. The town also serves as the administrative capital of Mufulira District. ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, but earned 48 caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and three for the British & Irish Lions. At club level, he played for

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, Pontypridd,

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

, Celtic Warriors, Harlequins, Scarlets,

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

and

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

Domestic career

James began his professional rugby career at Bridgend RFC in 1995 after coming up through the ranks of Kenfig Hill RFC. After 43 appearances for Bridgend, he moved to Pontypridd RFC in 1997, where he played his part in the infamous Battle of Brive (Heineken cup clash 1997) and went on to make 54 club appearances in two years. In 1999 James moved to West Wales to play his rugby and enjoyed his first stint at Llanelli playing 52 games and scoring 145 points. He returned to Bridgend in 2001 (which later became the Celtic Warriors regional side in 2003). 2004 saw James move to London to play for Harlequins, before being tempted back to Wales only a year later to return for the Llanelli Scarlets where he stayed until 2009. James scored over 565 points in his career and was the first to score over 25 tries in Heineken Cup and scored 29 tries overall.

International career

James made his international debut for Wales in 1996, playing against Australia in Sydney. He went on to win 48 caps in 11 years and scored 15 tries. His last cap came at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. In 2001, James played all three Tests for the British & Irish Lions in Australia, scoring one of their four tries in the opening Test victory.

References

External links

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Dafydd James Fitness
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Dafydd 1975 births Zambian people of British descent Bridgend RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Harlequin F.C. players Kenfig Hill RFC players Living people Llanelli RFC players People educated at Ysgol Brynteg Sportspeople from Mufulira Pontypridd RFC players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Scarlets players Sale Sharks players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Zambian emigrants to the United Kingdom Zambian people of English descent 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players