Ex Wales captain reveals he has HIV

Former Wales rugby captain Gareth Thomas has revealed he is HIV positive, saying he wants to “break the stigma” around the condition.

He said he wants to show how people with HIV are misrepresented as “walking around with walking sticks who are close to dying”. He has also spoken about “shame” and “fear” of keeping his condition secret.

The ex-British and Irish Lion is due to talk about his diagnosis in a BBC Wales documentary on Wednesday.

In it, he says at his lowest point in 2018 he felt like dying. Public information campaigns in the 1980s, warning people to take precautions against Aids, have left a legacy of misunderstanding, he says. Advances in medicine now allow people who are HIV positive to live long healthy lives. With effective treatment, the virus cannot be passed on.

Other than waking at 06:00 to take a single pill every day and visiting the hospital for blood tests every six months, the condition has little impact on day-to-day life for Thomas, 45.

On the contrary, plans to take part in an Ironman challenge on Sunday, which has involved him learning to swim, were to Thomas a way of demonstrating his physical and mental strength.

“When I first found out that I was going to have to live with HIV, the first thing I thought was straight away: I was going to die,” he said.

“It’s not like I blame people for not knowing this. This is a subject that because of the 80s scenarios people don’t talk about it because that’s the only information they have.” much between the two teams but they have had a bit more composure than us at the end of the games. We have held the lead both times and blown it.”

The Storm had their chances to kill off the Raiders during a frantic second half at AAMI Park and could have even pinched it late if a questionable decision from the touch judge against winger Suliasi Vunivalu hadn’t gone against them in the final minute.

Bellamy refused to get drawn into the Vunivalu ruling, but did suggest the stop-start tempo of the game didn’t favour his side.

“It felt like a game of AFL how long it took to play,” Bellamy said.

“There was only three tries scored in the entire game so it was a pretty dour game. There wasn’t too much between the sides.”

The Storm now have to back up next week against the winner of the Eels and the Broncos and a victory there will pit them against the Roosters in a rematch of last year’s premiership decider.