Fight for Dan Cole’s place won’t change Henry Thomas

Henry Thomas is the first to admit that he cannot match Dan Cole’s all-court ability in an England shirt.
But the 22-year-old intends to let his power do the talking in a bid to nail down the No.3 shirt for the 2015 World Cup.
When on top of his game, Leicester stalwart Cole has drawn plaudits for his breakdown ability as much as his scrummaging solidity.
The extra flanker role that he can perform over the ball has made him undroppable since he first broke into the England team under Martin Johnson.
But a season-ending neck injury has opened the door to Thomas and Davey Wilson, the latter starting against Ireland, Wales and Italy leaving the young pretender to settle for cameos off the bench.
And while Thomas admits Cole’s all-round ability has made him a mainstay for England, and deservedly so, the youngster is confident that he has his own strengths that will put him at the top of the pecking order come 2015.
“The amount of caps he (Cole) has got and playing for the Lions, that’s a massive goal of mine. He is the level to try and aim for,” he said.
“But you have got to be your own player, each player has their own selling point, their point of difference. For me that’s ball in hand stuff, carrying and link-play, that’s one of my main strengths.
“Scrummaging is one of my big work-ons, I feel that is going in the right direction.
“Everyone in the squad has their work-ons and you want to be more rounded, at the breakdown and the like.
“But you have to focus on your strengths and what’s got you here rather than trying to be like someone else. Like every player, you want to be No.1 in your position in the country, that’s the goal.
“But at the moment it’s about getting there, building performances and building trust in me so I can get more and more game time.
“With Stuart (Lancaster) if you are good enough you are old enough, it’s proven against teams like Ireland.”
Bath-bound Thomas is still awaiting his first England start although should his future employers make the Premiership final this season he might be given his head as early as the first summer Test against the All Blacks.
But after a season of increasing maturity with Sale and an involvement in every Six Nations matchday squad, Thomas admits his front row credentials are growing all the time.
“For me it’s been about waiting for an opportunity and it came at the start with Davey having a knock and now Coley,” said Thomas, whose England debut was off the bench during last summer’s Argentina tour.
“It’s about playing every game and trying to play as well as I can and give the coaches the trust in me so I can play for longer and longer. It’s up to me to perform then.
“The Six Nations is definitely a step up in intensity, Argentina was special because it was my first caps and you can never take that away.
“But the first Six Nations cap is pretty big, when I came on against Ireland was amazing and I feel like I made a bit of a difference.
“That makes me feel more part of the squad and gives me confidence going through into later games.
“The scrums are closer together at international level, there is even less of a hit which makes the technical side of things even more important.
“You don’t get that a lot in the Premiership, the referees like to keep it a bit further apart and keep the hit.
“But in internationals now you are almost pre-engaged, so you have to work out ways to deal with that and use it to your advantage.
“I can definitely see the progression being made. Working with guys like Coley and Wig (Rowntree) these guys have got heaps of experience.”
CHARLIE TALBOT-SMITH