James Bater (born 7 January 1980) is a Welsh former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer who played as a flanker at club level for

Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours. History ...

, and in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

for the

Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

and the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

. Born in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, Bater began his professional rugby career at

, before moving to the

at the team's inception at the dawn of regional rugby in Wales. In his three years at the Ospreys, Bater made a total of 67 appearances, scoring six tries. However, due to the rise of future Wales captain

Ryan Jones Ryan Paul Jones (born 13 March 1981) is a Wales former international rugby union player who played at number eight, blindside flanker or second row. He was involved in three Grand Slam wins, in 2005, as captain in 2008, and 2012. He is one o ...

and the signings of

Filo Tiatia Filogia Ian "Filo" Tiatia (born 4 June 1971 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a New Zealand international rugby union footballer, best known as a back-row forward and occasional lock for Ospreys (rugby union), Welsh region the Ospreys. Tiatia made ...

and

Jono Gibbes Jonathan Brian Gibbes (born 22 January 1977) is a rugby union former player and coach. He is a former New Zealand rugby union player who captained , the Chiefs and the Māori All Blacks, and appeared in various All Blacks teams. He is the form ...

, Bater found himself on the fringes of the first team at the Ospreys. The Scarlets came in with a bid for him, and he was allowed to leave. Bater has managed to make a place for himself in the Scarlets side, and has even captained the team when regular captain,

Simon Easterby Simon Easterby (born 21 July 1975 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire) is an Irish former rugby union player. He is currently the defence coach for the Irish national team. Early life Easterby's father is English and his mother Irish. He is the you ...

, and vice-captain, Stephen Jones, are on international duty. In March 2009 it was announced that Bater had been forced to retire due to a neck injury and hoped to return to dentistry. Bater resumed his career in dentistry and now works for a dental practice in

Skewen Skewen ( cy, Sgiwen) is a village within the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, in Wales. The village is served by Skewen railway station and has its own rugby club. History Skewen was once an industrial village. There were a number of colli ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He attained his only international cap as a replacement against Romania on 27 August 2003.Wales win at last
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References

External links

Scarlets profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bater, James 1980 births Living people Rugby union players from Bridgend Welsh rugby union players Rugby union flankers Ospreys (rugby union) players Scarlets players Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players People educated at Ysgol Brynteg