Whakarāpopototia te tuhinga:  E kii ana a James Hook he 'tohu' mena ka tono mai a Wales mo ana ratonga i mua o te Ipu o te Ao o tenei tau. He whai wāhitanga koura tā te kapa Gloucester ki te whakaatu i āna pūkenga kāore e taea te tautohetohe i te whakataetae whakamutunga o te Pākehā Challenge Cup i te pō o te Paraire ki a Edinburgh. Engari ahakoa kua wikitoria a Hook 29-tau-tawhito i nga kapu Whakamatau 77, ka taea e ia te whakaata i nga timatanga e rua mo Wales - ki nga Barbarians me Tonga - mai i te Ipu o te Ao whakamutunga i te tau 2011. Ka tūmanako a James Hook ki te whakaatu i tōna pūkenga i te whiringa toa o te Pākehā Challenge Cup ki a Edinburgh i te Paraire. Kāore te kapa Gloucester i whakarere i te hiahia kia whakahokia mai ia ki Wales i mua i te kapa o te Ao i tēnei raumati. I te mea ko te kounga o Hook i te hawhe rere, i te pokapū me te tua, he mea whakamiharo ki te tangata noa kaore e taea e te kaiako matua o Wales a Warren Gatland te rapu waahi mo ia i roto i tana ra 23 me nga roopu whanui. Kei te whakaarohia a Gareth Anscombe hei kaitautoko mo te Ipu o te Ao a Wales, e kii ana ahakoa ka whakauruhia e Hook tetahi roopu whakangungu 45-tangata hei panui i te timatanga o Pipiri, ko te tapahi whakamutunga a Gatland mo te 31-tangata ka taea te whakaatu i a ia. I te pātai mō ōna wawata mō Wales, ka mea a Hook: 'Kei te tumanako tonu ahau, engari kāore i roto i ōku ringa. Kāore he whakapā atu, he aha rānei. 'Kua āwhina pea ki ahau nā te mea kua arotahi ahau ki a Gloucester, ā, kāore i whakaaro ki a Wales. 'E tūmanako ana ahau ka whiwhi au i tētahi karanga mai i Wales i tētahi wā, engari kāore i puta mai i te wā roa, ā, kāore au i te tūmanako. Mēnā ka puta, he pai, mēnā kāore....' Ko Hook, nāna i eke ki Wales tata ki te iwa tau ki muri, ā, kua eke ki ngā whakataetae o te Ao e rua, he whakaaro nui ki te āhua o te tākaro o nāianei. 'I korero a Rob Howley (kaitohutohu awhina Wales) ki ahau i te ngahuru o te tau kua hipa mo te whakatikatika me nga mea pera, na kei te ngana ahau ki te kawe mai ki taku keemu,' Hook i tapiritia. Engari i tua atu i tera, kei te ngana ahau ki te arotahi ki nga mea me mahi e au ki konei (i Gloucester), kaua ki nga mea e hiahia ana ratou kia mahia e au. E mea ana a Hook ko te mea tuatahi me te mea nui kei te arotahi ia ki nga mea e hiahia ana ia ki te mahi ki te taha karapu o Gloucester. 'Kei te tākaro tika a Wales, ā, e hiahia ana ahau ki te whakaaro ka taea e au te uru atu ki tērā, mēnā ka hiahiatia. He nui ake au i te...
Kua wikitoria a James Hook i te whutupaoro o Gloucester i te 77 o ngā whakataetae whakamātautau mō Wales. Engari e rua noa iho āna tīmatanga mai i te Ipu o te Ao whakamutunga i te tau 2011. E tumanako ana ki te whakamīharo i te whiringa toa o te Pākehā Challenge Cup ki a Edinburgh.