Who is Taine Basham: Ten things you should know about the Wales flanker

Dragons back-row Taine Basham has impressed coaches and fans from an early age and it has resulted in him becoming a starter for Wales…

Ten things you should know about Taine Basham

1. Taine Basham was born on 2 November 1999 in Newport, Wales. He stands at 6ft (1.83m) and weighs 14st 13lb (95kg).

2. Basham played his junior rugby at Talywain before becoming part of the Dragons Aacademy. He made his debut for the region in 2018.

3. He won his first cap for Wales in the summer of 2021, coming off the bench against Canada, and made his first Test start against New Zealand in November 2021.

4. Basham fractured his arm in January 2021, which meant he was out of action for just over two months.

5. In 2019, it was reported that six Gallagher Premiership clubs wanted to sign him but he remained in Wales.

6. He is the great, great grandson of the welterweight and middleweight boxing champion Johnny Basham.

7. Basham has spoken about how inspirational Alun Wyn Jones is.

He told Rugby Pass: “I remember we had an off-week training during the Six Nations. In your head you’re thinking, we could take it a bit easy here but at the next lineout set, as soon as the coaches shouted ‘next drill’, Alun Wyn was pelting it off to the next station in front of everyone. You can only follow. He’s a proper leader.”

8. He played for Wales U20 and U16.

9. Former Dragons head coach Bernard Jackman has called Basham “exceptional”. He said: “When he has the ball, he has got something you don’t see very often. His footwork is exceptional, as good as any back. He has a boxer’s footwork.”

10. He has qualifications in bricklaying and plastering.

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