Gareth Thomas backs Wales player to shine for British & Irish Lions this summer
Gareth Thomas backs Wales player to shine for British & Irish Lions this summer
Thomas believes Tomos Williams could be a match-winner for the Lions in Australia
Gareth Thomas and a team of 14 people are undertaking the Snowdonia Ten Peak Challenge, raising awareness of HIV stigma, and challenging perceptions that living with HIV limits what you can achieve. Pictures by Paul Currie/for Matt Dickens Photography
Wales might have their lowest Lions contingent since the Second World War but former skipper Gareth Thomas believes Tomos Williams is a match-winner who can force his way into Test contention.
The scrum-half was named Premiership Player of the Season for his performances in his first year for Gloucester, and earned a first Lions call-up despite playing for a Wales team still searching for a first win since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
He impressed off the bench in the opening Lions fixture against Argentina, and will now make a first start alongside Finn Russell against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday.
Thomas believes there is something special about Williams, who could both push his way into the Test 23, as well as inspiring any Welsh youngsters to ensure there is greater representation in four years' time.
Thomas said: 'Tomos Williams is a person who can change games. He has great individual talent and that talent has probably got him on the plane. He can win a game for you if he gets an opportunity.
'To have the two (Williams and Jac Morgan) of them represent Wales and potentially press for a Test spot will be great motivation for whoever is watching now and will be playing for Wales in four years' time.
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'They will think there is the potential to get there from Wales. Even though at the moment, rugby in Wales is negative, this time in four years' time, we could have won a Grand Slam and have 15 people on the tour.'
Thomas speaks from experience. When he toured with the Lions in 2005, going onto captain the Test side after Brian O'Driscoll was injured two minutes into the first Test, just three Scots were initially included.
Two decades on, Scotland have provided a much bigger contingent, with eight in Andy Farrell's original squad of 38, although tighthead prop Zander Fagerson has been forced to withdraw through injury.
So while Thomas would have loved more Welsh players to make it onto the plane Down Under, he acknowledges the reasons for the decision and believes that the public back home will still get behind the team as much as ever.
He added: 'It is one of those things that comes around once every four years.
"Sometimes it comes on a year where you have had a good year as a team, and sometimes it is when you have had a bad year, that is the way it goes.
'The thing with the Lions, there seems to be an element of sometimes people dropping their identity of Scottish, Welsh or Irish and supporting the Lions.
"I don't think the pubs in Wales will be empty because there might not be any players from Wales playing, they will go to support the British & Irish Lions, not just supporting the Welsh players in the Lions. It is a wonderful example of how sport can unify.'
On the subject of unifying, Thomas this week took part in the Snowdonia 10 Peak Challenge for Tackle HIV, in a bid to tackle misunderstanding of HIV as well as addressing the stigma around it.
He has been part of the campaign for more than half a decade now, and this challenge, which involved climbing many of the highest mountains in Wales and crossing the most remote mountain range in Wales and England – the Carneddau - is an opportunity to show what is possible for those living with HIV.
He added: "HIV is such a lifestyle thing, we have to get people to realise, not just tell them that people who live with HIV are not restricted physically and mentally of their capabilities.
'Sometimes when you stand up and are the example of what you are saying, people take notice even more. So to do a physical challenge backs up everything we have been verbally saying for the last five years that this campaign has been going.'
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Tackle HIV is a campaign led by Gareth Thomas in partnership with ViiV Healthcare, with Terrence Higgins Trust as the charity partner, which aims to tackle the stigma and misunderstanding around HIV. For more information visit tacklehiv.org and follow @tacklehiv
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