James Hook is back in Welsh rugby – older, wiser, and wetter than before. Owen Morgan was at the Brewery Field where Ospreys fans raised a glass in pre-season appreciation.
At precisely 8.39pm on a rain-lashed Bridgend evening, one of the prodigal sons of Welsh rugby made his return to home soil, or, should I say, home mud.
There may not have been a fatted calf prepared for James Hook’s return on Friday, but the burger stalls were certainly doing a brisk trade as fans tried to seek shelter and take their mind of the awful August weather.
If Hook had wanted a reminder of what playing rugby in Wales can be like after his years at Gloucester and particularly the Mediterranean warmth of Perpignan, then the Brewery Field provided it in bucket loads . . . quite literally.
The weather in Perpignan was dry and sunny with temperatures of 28 degrees. In Bridgend, it was not. At times the rain was horizontal and the temperature was half of that in the south of France.
However, as the Ospreys squad went through their warm-up drills prior to kick-off against Leicester, Hook looked as enthusiastic, fit and famously tanned as he did in the Galacticos days.
If the colour in his cheeks had come out of a bottle, then it was proving to be as durable as the man himself in the monsoon-like conditions.
It’s now 13 years since Hook made his first debut for the Ospreys against Cardiff Blues during the 2004-05 season. And it was on a similarly rainy night to last Friday, during the 2006-2007 season, the promising youngster really announced his arrival as a top player and won the hearts of Ospreys fans.
After coming on as a replacement, he landed a nerveless conversion with the last kick of the match to earn his home region a famous Heineken Cup win over Sale.
Since then he has amassed over 250 appearances for the Ospreys, Perpignan and Gloucester, not to mention 81 Wales caps and four British Lions appearances.
Those impressive figures weren’t enough to earn him a place in the starting mix-and-match Ospreys line-up in the friendly against the Tigers, but they did bring him a genuinely warm welcome home from the 3,478 hardy souls who had braved the elements when he did make his entrance for a 33-minute second-half cameo.
There was more than a touch of irony as Hook slotted into the full-back berth, given that part of the reason he left the Ospreys in the first place was his desire to play in the number 10 spot, rather than being the jack of all trades that his region – and, particularly, Wales – sometimes considered him to be.
Hook couldn’t fail to have been impressed by the performance of the man he replaced. During the first 50 minutes Dan Evans had simply carried on showing the kind of form he’s displayed since joining the Ospreys.
If there are questions why Hook hasn’t won even more than his impressive tally of Wales caps, then they are tenfold for Evans in recent seasons.
The Ammanford product had once again shown the full range of his skills, including a sublime one-handed pick up every bit as good as New Zealand’s Beauden Barrett during the recent Lions series, which had pundits purring all around the globe.
Despite Evans’ excellence, Hook’s introduction did nothing to weaken the Ospreys.
His first involvement a minute after taking the field saw him chase back deep into his own 22 to retrieve a long Leicester punt, turn and send an excellent touch-finder to half-way.
There were a couple of excellent high takes from steepling kicks which were particularly impressive considering the ball was dropping out of the floodlights and swirling rain.
One kick ahead, chase and tackle earned the Ospreys a scrum in a promising attacking position.
Although there was one mis-judged high take, added to the fact that the Ospreys were ultimately beaten 21-14, there was enough in Hook’s performance to suggest his return will be far more than some sentimental swansong.
Hooky’s home, Halfpenny and Henson to come.
Here’s to a hat-trick of happy homecomings.
