His father, Liam Botham, played wing for Cardiff RFC in the late 1990s and received an England squad call-up in 2000, though he was never capped at senior level.
"I think just watching Wales play at the time as a kid, I enjoyed playing it, and dad obviously played down here and always spoke so highly of it – and I think his biggest regret was leaving Cardiff," said James Botham.
The flanker acknowledged facing significant public criticism regarding his heritage, recalling a youthful attempt to emphasize his Welsh credentials during an international tournament.
"I came down and my first ever interview, I was U18s and we were in South Africa, and I don't know what happened but I put on the worst Valleys accent ever.
I don't know what it was, it was horrendous," said James Botham.
He noted that the interview remains online, describing the experience as a reaction to the pressure surrounding his identity.
"I've gone from being at school, speaking like I am now to sounding so Welsh it was ridiculous, to then going back to speaking normally afterwards," said James Botham.
Beyond national identity discussions, Lord Botham also commented on modern pre-match routines, criticizing long physical warm-ups used by current athletes as inefficient.
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"I watch them, they go running around for about an hour, and I'm thinking that's an hour of running around and you've got to kick off in 10 minutes time," said Lord Botham.
