Freddie Thomas Hopes for Continued Wales Opportunities After Debut

Gloucester lock Freddie Thomas, who made his “surreal” Wales debut against South Africa last weekend during the Autumn Nation Series, has expressed his desire for additional opportunities to represent Wales in the upcoming Six Nations tournament. The 23-year-old entered the match as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s loss to the reigning world champions, South Africa. Thomas had previously indicated his “surprise” at being included in Warren Gatland’s 35-man squad. Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Thomas stated, “Hopefully if I keep putting performances together I’ll get another chance at the Six Nations but at the moment I’m just focussing on playing well for Gloucester.” Thomas developed his skills within Gloucester’s academy system and previously represented England at the under-18 and under-20 levels. However, he is eligible to play for Wales due to his paternal grandparents. He had previously mentioned that playing for Wales had always been an underlying ambition, and he publicly declared this aim late last year. Nevertheless, the experience of being informed by coaches, with 35 minutes remaining in the game, that he was about to enter the field was an unexpected moment for him. Recounting the moment, Thomas described it as “surreal.” He stated, “Looking up on the screen and seeing my face there, hearing the announcement of my name, on for debut, my cap number, it was surreal, it’s what you dream of as a kid.” He further reflected on the experience, adding, “Growing up I expected it to stay a dream and not become reality, to be able to live that dream out was a special day.” Thomas shared that he felt “emotional” while standing on the Principality Stadium pitch during the national anthems, emphasizing that the match represented a moment “as big as a moment” for his family as it was for him personally. He elaborated, “Just being able to go after the game to see my parents, see my girlfriend, see all my extended family on my dad’s side which is all the Welsh side of the family, see them hug them, thank them, for supporting me the whole way through my career.” As one of four Cherry and Whites players selected for the Wales squad, Thomas found comfort in the presence of familiar teammates such as Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, and Josh Hathaway within the camp. He commented, “That was helpful especially for that week with Tomos and Gareth kind of being leaders here and also leaders there.” Thomas added, “If I ever needed to ask a question about knowledge, detail anything like that they were the ones I went to.” The training camp also served as a significant learning opportunity for the young lock, who has accumulated 48 appearances for Gloucester since his initial debut in 2020. This was particularly true regarding his integration with Wales’ experienced forwards. Thomas remarked, “Adam Beard, he’s got about 50, 60 caps and he was really helpful with me, took me under his wing straight away.” He further noted the assistance from another teammate: “Will Rowlands as well, those second row boys have been around the block quite a long time and know what they’re doing and they were really helpful with me, line-out wise and a around the pitch and helping me settle in.”