Full name | James Olds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 6 April 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Bridgend, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 169 cm (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 76 kg (168 lb; 12 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Ollie Olds (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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James Olds (born 6 April 1991) is an international Welsh rugby league player who currently plays for Fortitude Valleys Diehards in the Brisbane Rugby League. He mainly plays at centre or on the wing.[1][2]
Olds was born in Bridgend in Wales, beginning his career at local side Tondu RFC before moving to Bridgend Athletic RFC, winning the Ospreys Youth League championship.[3] He made his 1st XV debut at 18, playing at the club until 2012 he scored 12 tries in 34 appearances.[4]
He moved to Australia with his brother, Ollie Olds. Playing for Albury Wodonga RUFC winning the Southern Inland Rugby Union Premiership in 2013 and 2015,[5][6] before joining Brisbane Rugby League side Wests Panthers, winning a minor premiership with the side. In 2020 he joined Albury Thunder.[7][8][9] In 2022 he joined Fortitude Valleys Diehards scoring 76 points in his first season.[10][11]
He made his debut for the Wales national rugby league team in the European Championship 2018, scoring a try and three goals in a 18–54 loss against France. On 11 November 2018 he scored 8 goals in a European Championship win over Ireland, this put him at joint-third for the most goals by a player in a match for Wales, and joint-sixth for most points by a player in a match for Wales.[12][13] His efforts helped secure a second-place finish for Wales, qualifying them for the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup.
In 2019 he played in the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s featuring once, in a 23–6 loss against France.[14]
After the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s he didn't feature again for Wales until being named in the Wales squad for the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup,[15] he did not feature in the competition however started on the wing in a warmup match against Lebanon scoring a solitary goal.