James Hook

James is regarded as one of the most talented young players in world rugby, and was recently acknowledged as the most promising young player in Wales. He possesses good distribution skills, great tactical awareness, and reliable goal kicking, but his popularity in Wales is largely due to his exciting running style - a tradition of Welsh fly-half play. This has led to comparisons with Welsh legend Barry John, who has hailed him as "a real star of the future".

After excelling at under-21 level, James starred for the Welsh sevens team and scored the winning try against South Africa in the plate final of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. That was followed by a full home debut against Australia, when he replaced the injured Stephen Jones and scored 13 points in a spirited 29-29 draw.

James played throughout the 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship, and saved his best till last - with 22 of Wales's 27 points against England for their only win of the tournament.