Mike James was an outstanding rugby player who has represented Canada 36 times, including two World Cup competitions. He began his professional career in 1996 in France after receiving offers from Japan.

James, who started the sport in Grade 11 playing for Alpha Secondary School in Burnaby, starred for Canada’s under-19 and under-23 squads and with the latter had 17 caps in less than one year.

James made 57 appearances for Canada, being named captain for several of those matches. He played nine games for Canada in four World Cup appearances (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007).

He played professionally in France premiership with Perpignan (1996 to 2000) and Stade Français (2001 to 2007) where he won league titles in 2003, 2004 and 2007. He also played five times for the French Barbarians helping them in two Heineken Cup finals.

He retired from rugby in 2007 going on to coach the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club for two seasons and the BC Bears as well as administrative roles for Rugby BC.

James is an honoured member of the BC Rugby Hall of Fame (2020) and Rugby Canada Hall of Fame (2023).