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'I could see how much it meant to my dad, me playing for Wales, rather than England'
By Simon Thomas
Henry Thomas’ rugby career has brought him a wide variety of experiences.bHe’s represented two different countries at international level and played in three different leagues.
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Now, at the age of 33, the Scarlets prop is set for something new as he prepares for his first taste of the Judgement Day double header at the Principality Stadium (Saturday, April 19).
It’s an occasion he is looking forward to and also one he considers vitally important – labelling his team’s clash with Dragons RFC a “must win” game in terms of their hopes of making the BKT URC Play-Offs.
The London-born tighthead had spells at Sale and Bath, during which time he won seven caps for England. A switch to France followed with moves to Montpellier and Castres and it was while he was across the Channel that the call came from Wales.
Under new eligibility laws, he was able to play for the land of his Swansea-born father as he hadn’t appeared for England for three years.
So it is that he now has another seven caps to his name, but with the three feathers on his chest rather than the red rose.
He has also come to play in Wales, joining the Scarlets last summer, which is how he finds himself heading into Judgement Day.
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It will be a new experience for him although it does strike something of a chord from days gone by.
“For two or three years, when I was at Bath, we had The Clash at Twickenham,” he explains.
“It wasn’t a double header, but it was kind of similar, around Easter time.
“It was against either Leicester or Bristol, teams with big fan bases that were likely to travel.
“You used to get crowds of about 60,000 for it.”
As such, Thomas can understand the thinking behind Judgement Day, which will see the Scarlets-Dragons game follow the Ospreys-Cardiff opener.
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“To put all four teams in the same stadium makes massive sense,” he says.
“I haven’t been live, but I’ve watched it on TV and it’s something the boys talk about as being a massive occasion.
“It’s always towards the end of the season, so the weather is usually nice and it’s gearing up towards the business end of the campaign.
“For us, it’s looking like a must-win with the way our season has panned out and it’s the same for Ospreys and Cardiff as well.
“Everyone knows that going to South Africa for the final two rounds is going to be tough and points will be difficult to come by.
“So all the Welsh regions, including ourselves, are scrambling for every point we can get.”
For Thomas, it will also be a chance to have another outing at the Principality Stadium where he has appeared a couple of times for Wales, including the thrilling encounter with Ireland in the recent Six Nations.
“Even if you have played 50 times for your country, it’s still a special place to play,” he said.
“There will be a lot of people there and we are going to be heavily motivated by that, for sure.
“You are always buzzing about any opportunity you get to play in front of a big crowd, especially at a great stadium like that.”
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Leinster
14
13
1
0
62
2
Glasgow
14
10
4
0
54
3
Bulls
14
10
4
0
50
4
Sharks
14
9
5
0
45
5
Munster
14
7
7
0
39
6
Ulster
14
7
7
0
37
7
Benetton
14
7
6
1
36
8
Edinburgh
14
6
8
0
36
9
Cardiff Rugby
14
6
7
1
36
10
Stormers
14
6
8
0
35
11
Scarlets
14
6
7
1
33
12
Ospreys
14
6
7
1
33
13
Connacht
14
5
9
0
33
14
Lions
14
6
8
0
30
15
Zebre
14
5
9
0
27
16
Dragons RFC
14
1
13
0
9
While the Dragons are bottom of the table, Thomas insists the play-off chasing Scarlets will now be taking them lightly.
“They are probably not as bad as the results have shown and I know they will be frustrated they’ve lost a fair amount of close games. So, it’s definitely no easy match,” he said.
“They have got plenty of internationals, plenty of quality players, so it will be a really exciting game.
“In a way, for them, it’s pressure off. They will want to go out there and perform, excite their fans and get something out of it. For us, it’s really important as we are fighting for every point to hopefully make the top eight. So it feels like there is a lot riding on it.”
Thomas added: “There’s definitely more on it when it comes to the derbies.
“Even in training, it steps up a gear. There’s a fair amount of pressure coming from the players that have been there for a while about how much they want to get one over on the other team or certain individuals.
“It makes it exciting. You want to play for them and you also know how much it means to the supporters.”
Thomas, whose wife Josie is due to give birth to their first child in July, has settled in well at the Scarlets, establishing himself as a key member of the pack.
“I have really enjoyed it. They are a great group of guys,” he says.
“It helps that I’ve got a relationship with Dwayne Peel from our Sale days. We played together for four years there when he was the old fella and I was the young guy. That dynamic is nice and part of the reason I signed up for this project.
“The squad is fairly young, with quality players, and I think the experienced addition of myself, plus a few others, has really set these guys to do good things. I have loved it.”
Thomas’ fine form with the Scarlets saw him selected to make his first start for Wales in the Six Nations opener against France and he was to play in three matches during the Championship.
“It was a massive honour to be back playing in the Six Nations. It had been 11 years since my last appearance in it. That’s a fairly large gap. It’s a great competition and it’s so well supported.
“The results were frustrating, so there were mixed feelings, but it’s such an honour to wear the shirt and play for Wales. It’s always great and to get that opportunity again was incredible.”
He continued: “Winning and losing become habits. The more it doesn’t happen, the more the win doesn’t come, a bigger thing it becomes mentally.
“But I can see it turning round pretty soon. There is too much quality in Wales for it not to be the case.
“There is so much young talent here. It’s just about stringing an 80 minute performance together and getting the monkey off the back in terms of a win.”
As for his future international ambitions, he says: “I am not someone who is ever going to rule themselves out of being selected.
“I will keep prioritising the Scarlets, trying to play well and give them what they need, especially that set-piece stability and a bit of leadership.
“If Wales still want someone like me, then I am more than happy to be there and I wouldn’t hesitate for sure.”
Someone else who would be very happy is Thomas’ father Nigel, through whom he qualifies to wear the red jersey.
“My dad is a proper Welshman and he always tried to push me through the Welsh system,” he says.
“I did some trials at the Dragons when I was 14, 15, through the London Exiles programme.
“But then, when I was away at school at Millfield, it didn’t really make sense and my dad reluctantly resigned himself to the fact I was within the English system and came and supported me regardless.
“He bit his tongue through an England-Wales game at Twickenham back in 2014.”
But then, in the summer of 2023, a new chapter began as Thomas was called up by Warren Gatland ahead of the World Cup.
As fate would have it, his Wales debut was to come against England in a warm-up match at the Principality Stadium. Joining the fray as a replacement, he shared in a 20-9 victory.
“I could see how much it meant to my dad, me playing for Wales, rather than England.
“He may not admit it, but you can see it on his face. He’s there home and away.”
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Wales didn’t mean enough to him to live there.