Thomas set to call the shots in Wales' lineout

Feb 21 2008 by Simon Thomas, Western Mail

JONATHAN THOMAS will be a man with more on his mind than most when he steps out against Italy at the Millennium Stadium.

In his role as Wales’ line-out captain, Thomas is charged with making the key decisions at that all-important area of the game.

That involves remembering as many as 50 different calls and choosing the right one for each situation.

It’s a tough job, but, as they say, someone’s got to do it and the Ospreys flanker does it particularly well, with the Welsh line-out tending to function better when he’s running the show.

“I do enjoy calling the line-outs,” said the 25-year-old.

“When you are a young player it can be quite an intimidating job.

“It’s one of those areas where, if you lose a couple on the bounce in a big arena like the Millennium Stadium, it can suddenly be quite a hard place to be.

“But the thing I’ve learned over the years is just to try and call each line-out as you see it and not get too bogged down or too worried about the situation.

“I guess the more you do it, the better you get at it.

“It’s a difficult job to do, but it’s something I’ve tried to get better at over the years.”

Thomas has revealed that Wales have a large base of calls to work from, maybe as many as 40 or 50.

“We do have that many, but then we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition for each game and narrow it down to maybe 25,” he said. “Just don’t ask me to name all of them!

“During the week, you’ll work on particular ones which you think may work against the team you are playing.

“Then they are sort of at the forefront of your mind.

“Sometimes you’ll maybe forget one or two calls, but that’s when senior players in the team can help you out.

“They can remind you of one or two things. It’s just about helping each other really.

“At the start of a match, you go in with a mentality of what you are going to call, but the key thing is adapting as the game is going on.

“You’ve got to respond to the way the opposition are defending and to how much pressure they are putting up in what areas of the line-out.

“You’ve got an idea of what’s going to work, but then you’ve got to adapt as the game goes on.”

Thomas is one of an array of jumpers at Wales’ disposal at the moment and he admits he’s spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding where the hooker should throw.

“Ian Evans, for example, is an outstanding line-out forward.

“The height he gets is pretty enormous,” said the 41-times capped blindside.

“Ian Gough is very athletic as well and, obviously, Ryan Jones is a line-out option too.

“Then you’ve got a guy like Alun Wyn Jones to come back from injury.

“We are quite fortunate in that we haven’t got any poor jumpers or slow jumpers.

“They are all fairly athletic, quick guys.”

So how does the 6ft 5ins Thomas decide when it’s the right time to put himself up as the target at the tail?

“Maybe a bad caller would always call to himself and be a bit greedy,” he said.

“What you have to try and do is call to where the options are. We’ve got such good athletic jumpers, it would be particularly selfish of me to call to myself all the time.

“Ideally, you would like back ball every time, but sometimes you’ve just got to take what’s on offer and go to wherever the space is.”

Thomas is expecting Italy to have focused firmly on the line-out in the build up to Saturday’s game, having failed to secure a couple of crucial attacking throws in the closing stages of last week’s 23-19 defeat to England in Rome.

“I think it’s an area they will have been particularly working on because they struggled a bit in the last 20 minutes against England and lost a few balls,” he said.

“I’m expecting them to be a fairly decent line-out by the time they come to us.

“But, in terms of ourselves, I think our line-out has been going pretty well and it’s important we continue to build on that.

“We always try and put pressure on the opposition and we have improved in that area as a side over the last couple of years.

“Italy will maybe be a bit concerned about their line-out after the last game, so we’ve got to get into them there.”

But the eminently sensible Thomas recognises that the Azzurri will be anything but soft touches.

“Over the last few years they have built into a pretty formidable side,” he said.

“When they first came into the Six Nations they weren’t particularly competitive.

“But they’ve been in the tournament for eight years now and playing in it you become more competitive.

“Every year they’ve slightly improved and I’m sure it won’t be long before they are up there competing with the best teams.

“Maybe in the past there was a danger that you’d look further than Italy.

“That will be the biggest danger for us, when you look past this game.

“A lot of focus has been put on the potential Triple Crown against Ireland, but we would be very foolish to try to look any further than Italy.

“They’ve caused us problems in the last two years and it would be hugely disrespectful not to focus well on this game.

“That won’t happen. All the boys know how tough this game is going to be.

“We did well in the 2005 Grand Slam against them in Rome. Since then we’ve had a couple of average performances against them.

“Maybe they are a side that have enjoyed playing against us over the last two years, so it’s important we bring a clinical edge and stamp our authority on the game.”

Thomas added, “They are a tough side to play against. Over the last three or four years they have turned into a really formidable pack.

“They are pretty combative at the breakdown and they pride themselves on their scrum.

“The two games they’ve played so far in the championship they’ve more than acquitted themselves up front.

“They pushed Ireland and England close, so we have to concentrate and focus on what we’ve worked on in training.

“As a pack we need to be on our toes and mtake the game to them and not vice versa.”

Gatland looking for the best out of his Wales team - read Gwyn Jones' column HERE