Who is Gareth Thomas: Ten things you should know about the Wales prop

From his F1 ambitions to unusual weights he has used, find out more about Wales prop Gareth Thomas…

Ten things you should know about Gareth Thomas

1. Gareth Thomas was born on 2 August 1993 in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales. He stands at 6ft 2in (1.88m) and weighs 18st 8lb (118kg).

2. He joined Ospreys in 2014 but has previously played for Scarlets, Llanelli and Carmarthen Quins.

3. Thomas represented Wales‘ age-grade teams and won his first senior cap in 2021 against Canada.

4. He received a yellow card in Wales’ 2021 autumn International against Australia and he did worry how it would affect the result.

He told Wales Online: “Things like that happen in a game. How many cards have there been in international games over the past year? At least my intent to get to the ruck was there. It was just unfortunate where my hand position was.

“I was very disappointed and thinking how it would affect the result. I was also thinking about how I wouldn’t let it affect my game when I got back on. We did very well at the end to get the win. We had to work for it.”

5. Thomas has said that the fact there are three loosehead props from the Ospreys – him, Nicky Smith and Rhodri Jones – who have had interest from the national team shows how good the region’s coaches are.

He said: “It just shows the good work Duncan Jones and Toby Booth have done since they’ve come in at the Ospreys. It’s not just in the scrum but in every way.

“Boothy has done a great job in all aspects and Duncan has really concentrated on the scrum this year. It shows how dominant we’ve been all season with three of us here.”

6. During the Covid lockdown, Thomas used his dog, Bernie, as weight to lift in his back garden.

7. If he wasn’t a rugby player, Thomas has said he would want to be an F1 or rally driver.

8. Thomas names former Wales and Lions prop Gethin Jenkins as his rugby hero.

9. He likes to watch Eurovision.

10. He married his long-time partner Claire in 2021.

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