Cardiff Rugby number eight James Ratti is savouring his first Wales call-up having been on “one heck of a journey” to earn international recognition.
The converted lock, 24, was named in Wales’ Six Nations squad on Tuesday.
After leaving Ospreys in 2019, Ratti rebuilt his career by playing semi-professional rugby with Cardiff RFC’s club side in the Welsh Premiership before signing for Cardiff Rugby.
“It’s been a bit of an unusual route to get here,” says Ratti.
“I’m thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had from Cardiff RFC through to Cardiff Rugby now.
“It’s been one heck of a journey and I’m not saying I’m anywhere near the end – it’s the start of something different now.
“It’s been a bit mad. It’s not something I necessarily expected, but obviously I’m chuffed to be included, and work starts now really.”
If Ratti’s call-up took him by surprise, then it might well have raised a few eyebrows elsewhere.
His imposing 6ft 4in and 18st frame is becoming a regular feature of Cardiff’s back row – where competition for places is intense – but his performances might not have caught the eye of many outside the Arms Park.
Having played much of his childhood rugby at number eight with Dunvant, Ratti moved to the second row in his teens and it was there that he impressed for Llandovery College before signing professional terms with Ospreys and representing Wales at under-18 and under-20 level.
However, he made only 13 appearances during his three years with Ospreys and, in the summer of 2019, his professional future appeared to be in the balance when he left the region and joined the semi-pro Cardiff RFC.
“I’d like to think I always believed,” says Ratti.
“You have your moments when your head is in the mud, but I don’t think you go away from thinking that.
“If you don’t believe you can get there it probably affects your training and your performances.
“You don’t think too far ahead. It’s just about taking it one step at a time.”
Ratti did just that. After impressing in the Welsh Premiership, he was soon back playing in the top tier of Welsh domestic rugby.
He made his Cardiff Blues debut in November 2019 and, after a string of impressive displays at lock and blind-side flanker, he was rewarded with a long-term contract in January 2020.
Ratti’s next step came when Dai Young returned to the region as director of rugby the following January.
Young felt there was a lack of ball-carrying number eights at his disposal but, in Ratti, he saw someone with the attributes to become the player he was missing.
Young was right. In the Rainbow Cup Welsh derbies at the end of last season, Ratti burst to prominence with several powerful carries and, with his experience at lock, he was also a lifting option in the line-out.
He has maintained that form this season and, like Young last year, Wales head coach Wayne Pivac likes what he sees.
“We don’t have a lot of number eights in this country,” Pivac said when he announced his squad on Tuesday.
“James has converted from second row, he’s got good size.
“What we want to do is add to his game again in terms of his attacking and defensive game.
“But we think he brings raw ingredients and with a bit of time and work we can keep improving him as a player.
“With the World Cup just around the corner, we need to be looking ahead as well as the here and now.”
Ratti was training with Cardiff when the Wales squad was announced and, once he heard he was in, the first person he told was his father, Leigh.
“He was a bit mad on the phone. There were a couple of missed calls by the time I’d even got back to the changing rooms,” Ratti says.
“He was just chuffed for me. He’s backed me through the journey I’ve had at every level.
“He coached me when I started at under-sevens all the way up to under-16s. He was Dunvant senior coach at the time I started playing, but after a few years he became Tata Steel coach, and he was there for 10 years.
“Even at points where my head’s been down a little bit he’s given me a kick up the backside and kept me pushing forward.”
