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Taine Basham (L) starts a new chapter at Cardiff Rugby with a point to prove to Steve Tandy(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\nTaine Basham will hope his move to Cardiff can relaunch his Wales careerTaine Basham (L) starts a new chapter at Cardiff Rugby with a point to prove to Steve Tandy(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\n
Rewind the clock four years and there were numerous rugby experts singling out Taine Basham<\/a> as the next big thing.<\/p>\n The then 21-year-old had put in a couple of outstanding individual performances for Wales<\/a> in defeats to New Zealand and South Africa. Back then it was Basham \u2014 not Jac Morgan or Tommy Reffell \u2014 who was supposed to be Wales’ new long-term openside flanker.<\/p>\n But things haven’t gone to plan since, with Basham falling out of favour during the second Warren Gatland<\/a> era. He was also left out of the summer tour of Japan by interim head coach Matt Sherratt.<\/p>\n But the 2025\/26 season is a fresh start for Basham, in more ways than one.<\/p>\n Basham will make his Cardiff<\/a> debut at No 8 in a pre-season friendly against Richmond at the Arms Park today while there is also a new head coach of Wales in the shape of Steve Tandy, who might hold a different opinion to that of Gatland.<\/p>\n It is easy to forget Basham is only 25 years old and has ample time to add to 17 Wales caps. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.<\/a><\/p>\n Openside flanker is not an area of weakness for Wales with the likes of Morgan, Reffell, James Botham and Josh Macleod, among others, fighting for the shirt.<\/p>\n But Basham is good enough to get back into the mix and offers something a bit different while he can also cover the entire backrow.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a boxer\u2019s footwork,\u201d said former Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman when he was head coach of the Dragons back in 2021 after Basham had been selected in his first Wales squad.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen him make people look silly in training. He can beat people for fun. He\u2019s very quick and very elusive, with good offloading skills.\u201d<\/p>\n The question is can Basham get his mojo back at the Arms Park?<\/p>\n At his best, Basham is a dynamic carrier capable of making post-contact metres, hits hard in defence and is effective in the wide channels. He is also strong at the breakdown.<\/p>\n Perhaps inconsistency has held him back over the past few years, but the hope is some new surroundings at Cardiff and a different coaching team can get Basham back on track when it comes to winning further international honours.<\/p>\n There were also concerns in some quarters that Basham could go off script too often by going outside the team’s game plan. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free<\/a><\/p>\n But there is no doubting he has the raw minerals needed to get back into the international set-up.<\/p>\n Basham will have to be at his best to get into the Cardiff side let alone Wales with the likes of Alex Mann, Botham and Taulupe Faletau all vying for places.<\/p>\n But sometimes competition for places can drive up standards and improve a player’s game.<\/p>\n \u201cMy rise to international rugby was fairly quick and I haven\u2019t been in recent squads,\u201d said Basham, when his move to Cardiff was initially announced.<\/p>\n \u201cA new environment and set of peers will hopefully be good for me because I don\u2019t have the number of caps that I thought I would have by now.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of people who have stayed at the Dragons for all of their career but I felt that I needed something different and a change of scenery.<\/p>\n