As I have said many times before, I am a big fan of James Hook. However, for most Welsh fans he is the forgotten man until something goes wrong and then they start calling for Hook to come back. He has become the fourth emergency service in Wales with people filling column inches, radio and television time with the James Hook debate. I have also been guilty of this before anyone pulls me up. There is no doubt that Hook is the more traditional 'Welsh 10'. Watching him play it is possible to see shades of Cliff Morgan, Barry John and Phil Bennett, all great outside-halves themselves.
The Welsh public love to see an exciting player fill the number 10 jersey, that is why Hook has so many fans. I think though we might have forgotten some of Hook's lesser games. When we think of him as a Wales player we immediately think of the 2008 Grand Slam where he guided Wales brilliantly, but since then he has not sparkled quite as much in the red of Wales.
There is an argument to say that it is because he has not had a run in the team since his big money move to Perpignan in 2011. He along with Dwayne Peel were the major sufferers of what has became known as 'Gatland's Law', whereby players outside Wales would not play. This law has long been defunct but Hook has never really been invited back into the fold. Always a squad member, never a starter. As a squad player Hook has played for Wales at Outside-Half, Centre, Full-Back and Wing, hardly a way to gain any consistency in performance. Hook is in the compromising position of being thrown on to change a game, something we all know he can do. However, due to so little game time in the Welsh shirt he simply tries to much and it doesn't come off making him look poor. If he had a full 80 minutes he would not have to make rash decisions and he would feel his way naturally into the game allowing him to exercise his creativity.
On the other hand, is it a case of the media discussion making James Hook out to be a better player than he really is? In his last start for Wales against Tonga last Autumn, he was not brilliant, not even granted the kicking duties as Halfpenny played. He started twice in 2012 and excelled in an open game against the Barbarians which suited his style, yet against Argentina struggled from centre. His last start at outside-half before the Tonga game was in the World Cup in 2011. In that game against France Hook could have won the game for Wales. He had four kicks that day only putting one through the uprights. Nine points missed which would have seen Wales into a World Cup final. Nobody remembers that, people focus on the red card and Halfpenny's missed penalty late on. Not all the blame lies with James Hook for that game but he certainly could have won it for Wales, if he had I think he would still be in the team today.
Playing James Hook is a risk, it always has been and always will be because his is that type of player. However, Quade Cooper is a player built in the same mould and we saw what he could do as he single-handedly took Wales' defence apart last Autumn. The issue is for Gatland to pick a 10 and stick with him. I don't believe that Priestland is the right man for Wales and would be more comfortable with Biggar who has never done anything to lose the Wales jersey. The real issue is that fans should not come running for Hook after one bad Welsh performance as seems to be the case now. The man is not a magician, he could not have helped give the Welsh forwards dominance last week. He could however, help to add some flair the Gatland's pattern of play.
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