No fewer than 23 internationals will be on parade at James Hook's testimonial match this Friday evening at the Gnoll in Neath.
Some of the greatest names in Welsh rugby are putting their boots back on for a much-anticipated game which is likely to attract a sizeable crowd.
Among the stars taking part are Shane Williams, Mike Phillips and Colin Charvis, with Allan Bateman defying Old Father Time by turning out at the age of 57. Other former Welsh internationals on duty will include Mark Taylor, Matthew Rees, Jonathan Thomas and Rhys Gill, along with Hook himself.
Read next: Welsh rugby club's 46-man touring party stuck in France after flight cancelled
There are also a number of Test players from other countries in action, such as ex-England trio Phil Vickery, Delon Armitage and Luke Narraway, plus Tongan duo Dave Tiueti and Maa’ma Molitika, while Kiwi No. 8 Nick Williams is one of the more recently-retired players involved. Dual code star Kevin Ellis, who - like Bateman - is 57, is another who will be rolling back the years.
The game will be a meeting between a James Hook Select XV, featuring the 81-cap playmaker, and a Classic Lions XV. Tickets cost £15 for adults and £7.50 for children under 14 and they are available via this link. Gates at the Gnoll open at 5pm on Friday, with the match kicking off at 7pm.
Outlining the thinking behind the fixture, Matt Church, chief executive of Cambria Sports Group - who own Neath RFC and Classic Lions - said: “We wanted to to do this properly for James. He’s a Welsh rugby legend and he deserves a big send-off which Covid unfortunately denied him. We’ve persuaded some world-class players to come out of retirement for this game.”
A bumper crowd is expected, as was the case for the star-studded Paul James Testimonial match at the Gnoll in July 2019.
James Hook Select XV squad: Andrew Howells, Matthew Rees, Tom Sloane, Daf Jones, Lyndon Bateman, Rob McCusker, Colin Charvis, Jonathan Thomas, Mike Phillips, James Hook, Aled Brew, Mark Taylor, Alan Bateman, Shane Williams, Alex Lawson, Hugh Gustafson, Ceri Jones, Richie Pugh, Ant Carter, Pat Horgan, Dave Tiueti, David Bishop, Nick Jones, Neil Clapham, Rory Gallagher, Richard Johnston, Paul Jones, James Merriman, Luke Narraway, Haydn Pugh, Rhys Shellard, Tom Smith, Richard Thomas.
Classic Lions XV squad: Rhys Gill, Marc Breeze, Phil Vickery, James Down, Michael Patterson, Chris Dicomidis, Maa’ma Molitika, Nick Williams, Martin Roberts, Steffen Williams, Aaron Bramwell, Gavin Evans, Joel Healey, Nathan Brew, Delon Armitage, Stefan Bond, Neil White, Dan Baker, Gareth Davies, Andy Williams, Foard Cooksly, Chris Davies, Kevin Ellis, Kevin James, Hugh Keir.
