By Graham Thomas
Ben Thomas admits it “does his girlfriend’s head in” how relaxed he is.
The Cardiff star – described by Warren Gatland as the best back in Wales this season – admits he likes to feel chilled, on and off the field.
“There isn’t much that gets my blood pressure raised, to be honest,” says Thomas, who played at No.10 for Wales this summer, but will go with the flow when he is thrown the No.12 shirt to face Fiji on Sunday in the first match of the Autumn Series.
“Generally, I tend to take things in my stride. In terms of the rugby side of things, the game is something that I’m pretty confident about.
“I’ve had enough confidence in my ability, and what’s probably helped that has been the rugby I’ve put together for the last 12 or 18 months.
“That has allowed me to be a bit more relaxed than I may have been a few years back.”
Thomas made his debut for Wales in 2021 and although the 25-year-old will win his fifth cap this weekend, his two starts came in Australia this summer.
It means when he runs out at the Principality Stadium to face the Fijians, it will be his first time as a starter in front of home fans, a circumstance that will enable his family to all be in attendance for the first time.
“It’s very pleasing for me to be able to make them proud,” says Thomas.
“Especially my mother, who was dragged from pillar to post for 18 years. To be able to repay her by playing for Wales and being able to watch me play, hopefully, at the Principality Stadium, will be a really special day.”
In Warren Gatland’s first stint as Wales coach, a key figure in the No.12 shirt was another laid back, unruffled character in Gavin Henson.
Thomas is a later developer than Henson, who was capped as a 19-year-old and was a Test Lion by the time he was 23.
But the similarities are there in the fact that both players are capable of combining classy creative skills with physical power in both attack and defence, a blend Wales have probably not enjoyed since at inside centre.
Another connection is their goal-kicking. Henson was always a kicker, whether he played at outside-half or centre, whilst Thomas is a more recent go-to man off the tee.
He did the job effectively in two Test defeats to the Wallabies this summer – landing three penalties and three conversions – and is expected to keep the role this autumn as doubts remain over fly-half Gareth Anscombe’s fitness to withstand the rigours of goal-kicking.
Wales kicking coach Neil Jenkins has been working closely with Thomas since the summer as Gatland looks to ensure there is no shortfall in that department despite the international retirements of Leigh Halfpenny and Dan Biggar.
“I haven’t kicked that much for Cardiff, but goal-kicking was always a side thing I kept on top of, something I’ve always done in training,” says Thomas.
“It’s something that I’ve done enough of in the past to be able to trust that practice. Gats (Warren Gatland) and Jenks (Neil Jenkins) were very good with me.
“They didn’t put any pressure on the outcome, as long as the process was right, so I’ve probably got them to thank a bit for that as well.”
It’s not often that teams who have lost their previous nine matches go into any game as favourites, but that is the situation for Wales.
It reflects the balance of power in this particular fixture against Fiji, with the South Sea Islanders’ only success in eight meetings coming at the 2007 World Cup in France, a result that spelt the end for then Wales coach Gareth Jenkins.
DragonBet make Wales 2/5 favourites, with the Fijians a distant 21/10 to win and the draw priced at 22/1.
The handicap betting suggests a tighter contest, though, with Fiji only being given a 6.5 points start at odds of 10/11.
The Fijians are more structured and sounder defensively than in the past, a result of them hiring a former Australian Rules player, Mick Byrne, as their head coach.
But they still conceded 57 points in defeat to Scotland last week and although they have eight players back who were unavailable for Murrayfield – including key men Semi Radradra and Eroni Mawi – anything other than a comfortable Wales victory would be a disappointing start to the autumn.
