Company Director James was born in Stockton-on-Tees on the 30.5.1982. He attended the elite rugby school Sedbergh at the age of 11. After a successful career that involved captaining Sedbergh to winning their first ever Rosslyn park sevens title he signed for Gloucester rugby club.​
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James burst onto the scene quickly scoring a number of tries for Gloucester in his first few appearances. He was quickly identified for his creativity and attacking flair. James was then selected to play for England Sevens helping them win the Hong Kong Sevens tournament by scoring a hat trick against Fiji in the final. ​
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Following such success James was selected to play for England against the Barbarians where he famously rounded Jonah Lomu to score a wonder try. However after gaining a number of caps for England James suffered a number of injuries which effected his international career. This resulted in James concentrating on his Gloucester career winning the premiership player of the season in 2008. During these years James experienced first hand the unpalatable nature of protein bars and shakes after each and every workout  These experiences were essential and undoubtedly played a key role in the conception of Kings Biltong.
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James has been at Gloucester for the last 11 years and lives happily with his wife Lucy and their 2 year old son George on the outskirts of Cheltneham.