Cardiff Blues and Wales wing Tom James has spoken publicly for the first time about his battle with mental health issues following his man-of-the-match performance for Merthyr in the Premiership.

James took time out of the game in 2017 and the wing told S4C's Y Clwb Rygbi that after suffering for many years where he could not cope with situations and had to lie about injuries, he is grateful to the Blues for allowing him the time to recover and is now able to talk about the issues he suffered.

Wales hooker Scott Baldwin, who has battled his own mental health problems during his career, and former Ospreys head coach Sean Holley, praised James' courage on BBC Wales Scrum V programme.