18 TEST MATCHES BONKERS... I FEAR
The way Wales play scares me individually for the players
GARETH Thomas says he fears for the physical demands being placed on Wales’ top players, describing the 18 Test matches they had to play last season as “bonkers”.
The former Lions captain is concerned about how long the likes of Jamie Roberts can carry on playing given the battering they take, with the daunting tour of New Zealand having come at the end of a draining campaign.
He says the way Wales play and the schedule they are faced with scares him in terms of the impact on the players.
Thomas also believes the next Six Nations will be a defining tournament in revealing whether Warren Gatland’s team have slipped down the European pecking order.
“Welsh rugby is in a lot better state than when I stopped playing. We go into the Six Nations as one of the favourites now rather than potentially winning a few games,” he said.
“But the way Wales play scares me individually for the players. I look at Jamie Roberts, who was amazing in this year’s Six Nations, and then he went to New Zealand and he looked so tired and so battered.
“With the way we play, you think how long can these players carry on doing this?
“You look at the way these players are asked to play and they will do it, they will put there bodies on the line and I have got huge respect for that.
“But it’s a way of playing that will physically kill players in what is al- ready a tough game and it’s getting tougher.
“To ask them to be the toughest players in a tough game is a hard mantle to carry for 18 games in a season. That’s a lot. Mate, it’s bonkers.
“And their training sessions are brutal. They are tough men, but a hell of a lot is being asked of them.”
Thomas – known throughout the game as Alfie – feels the Welsh team is falling short of its full potential as he reflects on the tour of New Zealand where they lost all four matches.
“It’s difficult to criticise it when it’s in a better place than we were a few years ago,” he acknowledges.
“But also I think they could be good enough to go to a different place as well. I don’t feel that they are maybe using the players they have to their potential because they are all drummed into a way of playing.
WALES legend Gareth Thomas has spelt out his fears for Warren Gatland’s players, describing the 18-match schedule they have just come through as “bonkers”.
The former Welsh skipper, affectionately known as Alfie, questions how much more figures like Jamie Roberts can carry on playing because of the battering they are given under the style of play adopted.
Wales have just finished a World Cup season with a draining tour of New Zealand, where they crashed 3-0 to a fitter, leaner and more skilful team.
In a compelling interview with Wales on Sunday, Thomas also talks of the ‘brutal’ training drills Gatland’s stars are put through and believes the team have to adapt their methods to make the most of the talent available.
“The way Wales play scares me, individually for the players. I look at Jamie Roberts, who was amazing in this year’s Six Nations, and then he went to New Zealand and looked so tired and so battered,” says Alfie (pictured above).
“With the way we play, you think, how much more can these players carry on doing this?”
He adds: “Their training sessions are brutal. They are tough men, but a heck of a lot is being asked of them.”
Alfie argues: “It’s difficult to criticise when it’s in a better place than we were a few years ago. But also, I think they could be good enough to go to a different place as well.
“I don’t feel that they are maybe using the players they have to their potential because they are each drummed into a way of playing.”
FULL INTERVIEW: Pages 62&63