Young Gun: Joe Thomas – Wales U20s centre

Joe Thomas only has two games left to play this season but he intends to make the best off them as he looks to pen his first professional contract with Ospreys.
The outside centre has been a mainstay in Wales U20s‘ midfield this season playing in all five games during their Grand Slam runs earlier this year as well as starting the three pool games at the ongoing Junior World Championships in Manchester.
His season will end next Saturday after two more play-offs games and, after the mandatory four-week lay-off imposed by World Rugby, he will return to his region with the LV=Cup firmly in sight.
“I’m contracted to the Ospreys but not as a professional yet,” he told The Rugby Paper. “I’ll see what the plan is when I get back but hopefully I can perform well and put my hand up to get signed full-time.
“I played LV=Cup the season before last and I can’t wait for that competition to return. A lot of young players are really excited about it because it gives us something to strive for.
“I was also involved in the B&I Cup with the Ospreys Premiership Select this season which was a very good experience for me even if it was tough to come up against full-time English teams.
“Senior rugby is a step up for any youngster. There’s a lot more to it than in juniors and it really takes you out of your comfort zone.
“But I hope to put in a good couple of performances during the next two games at the JWC and take it into next season.”
Following their Grand Slam exploits, Wales went into the JWC looking to take their European domination to the world stage but two one-point defeats against Ireland and New Zealand meant they failed to get out of their pool.
Fifth-place is the best they can achieve but Thomas is looking forward to having another go at the Baby Blacks tomorrow after the draw paired them together again.
He said: “The Six Nations is the Six Nations and everyone gets better after it as team learn more about themselves.
“We won our first five games of the season and won the Grand Slam but things got tougher at the JWC.
“Losing by one point on the last kick to New Zealand on Wednesday was a bitter pill to swallow. There’s been a one point margin in all our three games so far and things could have been a whole lot different.
“We started well against both Ireland and New Zealand but little things didn’t go our way.
“Luckily for us we have the opportunity to set the record straight quickly. We’re very excited to be able play them again and show what we can really do.”