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Gareth Thomas knows only too well the Test match intensity required to challenge the All Blacks after Wales ran them close last autumn
(Main) Gareth Thomas knows only too well the Test match intensity required to challenge the All Blacks after Wales ran them close last autumn (Thumb) Gareth Thomas
Alfie aiming for Test place
10 June 2005, 10:50 am
By WRU
Gareth Thomas arrived in Auckland yesterday and set his sights on winning a place in the Lions Test team to face the All Blacks.
"It's great to be here, but now I am, this is where the real hard work begins," said Thomas. "It has been difficult missing the first couple of weeks, but I always knew that would be the case if Toulouse continued to do well in the French Championship.

"Having said that, I didn't go into the semi-final against Stade Francais last week hoping we would lose. I went in hoping that we would win and get to the final. The only consolation about losing was that I had something else to focus on to take away the disappointment of that defeat."

Thomas will be challenging for a place at full-back or on the wing for the three Test games and is likely to get his first chance next week; against Wellington. Having said that, the former Celtic Warriors star doesn't mind where he plays, as long as he is in the starting line-up come June 25th.

"I have played in a great many positions during my career, so to me it doesn't matter. I just want to play," continued Thomas. "However, the competition is really fierce and going by what I have seen and heard from the first two games, there have been some pretty good performances from the boys.

"I managed to stay awake to watch the first sixty minutes of the Taranaki game, but the jet lag hit in after that and I woke up I didn't even know what the final score was. When I found it, I was delighted. We have to keep winning and get on a decent roll if we are to do well in the Test series."

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