Thomas: Gat turning our raw rookies to warriors
WALES GRAHAM THOMAS
WARREN GATLAND is the pack whisperer who can turn untested rookies into war-hungry warriors, according to the Wales prop who has seen it done before.
Ospreys front-rower Gareth Thomas had the soft words of Gatland ease him into the transition to Test rugby when he first came into the Wales team three years ago.
Now, Thomas (above) reckons the master coaxing of the Kiwi coach can make sure the greenest of Welsh squads can quickly come of age when they start their Six Nations campaign at home to Scotland next Saturday.
“You can tell already, he is breathing confidence into the group and that will be key for us next week,” said Thomas, who at 30 suddenly finds himself as one of the elder figures in a squad with an average age of 25.
“Just to have a bit of confidence in a young group, it’s very exciting to think what we can do. Gats said at the World Cup, we’re a country that always punches above its weight. We’re going to have to do that in this campaign as well.
“I can’t see a team coming up against us and thinking they’re going to have an easy day.
“The boys we’ve got in the squad at the minute, none of us will back down in any fight.”
Five of the Wales squad are uncapped, half the squad have eight caps or fewer, and they are captained by 21-year-old Dafydd Jenkins, the youngest Wales skipper for 56 years.
Gnarled old stagers such as Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Justin Tipuric and Dan Biggar have shuffled off and there are plenty of the mid-range batch who are out injured.
But loose-head Thomas – who was part of the World Cup campaign where Wales reached the quarterfinals – insists the kids will be all right.
“There’s a lot of new faces here and they bring a lot of energy. It’s all good, intense sessions and I’m quite excited about what the younger boys can bring to the Six Nations.”
One of those is Exeter lock Jenkins, the youngest Welshman to lead the team since the great Sir Gareth Edwards, who was 20 when he took the armband in 1968.
Thomas added: “Daf has come in and really got the group together. He is one of those captains who will lead through his actions and create the respect for others to follow.”
There has been talk of a Scottish rugby revival for a few years, but when they come south and turn right, it’s tended to be no more than bagpipe hot air.
If they can’t do it next week, then who knows when they will?