what more can I do for Wales to recall me?

No wonder James Hook agreed to sign a new contract with Perpignan in September – he is a wanted Welshman, enjoying a glorious, fulfilling exile.
The 28-year-old may be a prophet without honour in his own land, but he is revered in his new home by the Pyrenees. There, the locals chant his name in Catalan; showering adulation on the import whose goal-kicking and more has inspired a revival of fortunes. Visit the official ‘USAP’ website and Hook’s face is emblazoned prominently, as the backdrop to the club crest. He has swiftly become a fixture and a favourite.
Since moving from the Ospreys to the southern outpost of France’s glittering Top 14 league, there has been a gulf between his club and Test fortunes. Hook represents two teams but only one pays due heed to his varied talents. At Perpignan, he is selected and given licence to express himself, he is the goal-kicker and talisman, and in 2012 he was voted the supporters’ Player of the Year to boot.

Classy performer: James Hook is a key player for Perpignan

That is where he feels wanted, so the decision to stay wasn’t difficult. As he prepared for a return to Heineken Cup action on Saturday, against Gloucester at Kingsholm, Hook told Sportsmail: ‘The club said quite early that they wanted to keep me. My family are happy here, my son has just started school and I’m happy with how it’s going rugby-wise too, so I wanted to stay. Coming here has taken me completely out of my comfort zone. I miss my family back home, but other than that it’s been great.’
Hook has relished the lifestyle change; living near a beach in a warm climate, but also the cut-throat nature of the Top 14, where elite Test players have convened in droves. His performances for Perpignan have been consistently impressive, helping the club to regain a place in Europe’s premier event and putting them in early contention for a league play-off place.
Yet, the man who has always so evidently craved the chance to wear No 10 has been operating at fullback this season. At first, the prospect concerned him, but he has come to embrace the revised job description in freeing him up to run amok, as well as shoot at goal.

Versatile: But does Hook's ability to play in several different positions work against him?

‘It’s always been the case that I’ve wanted to settle in one position,’ said the renowned jack of all back-line trades. ‘I’ve played a lot at 10 but the club have signed Camille Lopez who is a really good young player. When they first told me I thought, “Oh no, here we go again”, but I’ve really enjoyed playing at full back this season. They’ve basically given me a free role in attack so I can go wherever I want. I’ve made more line-breaks in the first eight games this season than I did all of last year. I’ve been goal-kicking too and I’m very happy with the role I have from 15.’
He is also very happy to be back among the Heineken Cup cast again, having watched marquee matches with ‘real envy’ during two years in the relative, low-key obscurity of the Amlin Challenge Cup. For Hook, these days, the continent’s seemingly doomed continental tournament is the nearest he will come to having a major part in an international game. Wales are the other team he represents, but they apparently don’t want him like Perpignan do; they don’t cherish him or pay heed to his varied talents. He has become a confused out-cast.
In the course of his 70-cap career, Hook has started at 10, 12, 13 and 15. From March 2009 to October 2011, he was in the starting XV for each of 24 consecutive Test appearances, but since the World Cup two years ago, he has been named in the first-choice team just once; for a non-cap game against the Barbarians. To many, this observer included, he is in danger of becoming one of the greatest wasted talents of the era.

Happy: Hook's move to France appears to be paying off

Established internationals: Jamie Roberts (left) and Mike Phillips also play club rugby in France

While others based in France, such as scrum half Mike Phillips, have remained in favour – as Racing Metro pair Jamie Roberts and Dan Lydiate surely will too – Hook has apparently been out of mind since being out of sight. He is not overwhelmed by outrage or indignation or bitterness, but he is bewildered by the situation.
‘It’s difficult,’ he said carefully. ‘Wales have done well and as a player you want to be involved in that, especially after being involved as long as I have. It’s been frustrating but you’ve just got to keep battling on. All I can do is keep trying to play well for Perpignan – it’s out of my hands.
‘When I’ve been in the (Wales) squad I’ve had little chats with the coaches and asked them what I can do. But when the team is winning and doing well, you can’ t really say a lot. As a player you’ve just got to knuckle down and get on with it. It has changed quickly for me, to a situation that is not the best, but I’m hoping it could change back again just as quickly.’
Despite being someone who has played for his country so many times and been part of Grand Slams and a World Cup semi-final, Hook admits that he has been left with a nagging lack of fulfilment, adding: ‘If someone had told me as a young boy that I would win 70 caps for my country and go on a Lions tour, I would have ripped their arm off. But I’m still only 28 and I feel like I’ve still got a lot to offer the Wales team. If it did end after 70 caps, I’d look back and be a little bit gutted that it couldn’t be more. I think it could be more than that and I just hope it is.’

Focused: Hook still hopes to add to his 70 Wales caps

One theory is that his versatility has been more curse than blessing, but Hook rejects that notion. He will keep plugging away in the faint hope that fine form for Perpignan will eventually force him back to the forefront of Warren Gatland’s plans, despite the disparity between his weekly role and the most likely vacancy in the Wales back line.
‘Now that I’m playing 15 for my club, it doesn’t really help me in terms of playing at 10 for Wales, especially as I was playing regularly at 10 for Perpignan in the last two seasons, but I wasn’t getting a look-in with Wales,’ he said. ‘My chances of getting a look-in at 10 now are probably quite slim, but you never know. There is an opportunity there.’
The Lions tour brought renewed disappointment for Hook, as he missed out on a place in the initial squad, then watched from afar as midfield reinforcements were summoned, knowing as time passed that the call wasn’t going to come. He threw body and soul into pre-training and tried to block out the painful rejection, buoyed by the continued support from those close to him and total strangers.

Significant challenge: Leigh Halfpenny is one of Hook's rivals for a Wales jersey

‘When I’m back home, everyone is really nice about it,’ he said, in reference to his international fall from grace. ‘People always say to me, “What more can you do?”. It’s a bit of a consolation in a way.’
Two years from now, if selection whims have turned full circle, Hook still hopes to be a key figure in Wales’ next World Cup campaign. He will not relinquish the dream just yet. In the mean-time, he will continue to flourish in glorious exile, for the team who do want him.