Henry Thomas: I’ll state case for England

Overlooked England tighthead Henry Thomas has his sights firmly set on a Six Nations recall following the national side’s troubles at the scrum.
Bath prop Thomas missed out on Stuart Lancaster‘s 50-man World Cup training squad, despite having featured prominently in the national set-up during 2013 and 2014.
And now Thomas is viewing Bath’s tough fixture card in the run-up to Christmas as the ideal platform from which to push his case.
From mid-November, the West Country side have a run of fixtures that reads Toulon, Leinster, Leicester and Northampton – followed by back-to-back European clashes with Wasps.
But before vying with Dan Cole and Kieran Brookes for a place in England’s match-day 23, Thomas’s first battle is to establish himself as first-choice pick at the Rec ahead of Davey Wilson, left. And he says the disappointment of World Cup omission will fire him on.
“We’ve got a tough month now and I absolutely see an opportunity to state my case,” said Thomas, who turns 25 on Friday. “I was really disappointed not to be involved in the initial England training squad over the summer but I took it on the chin.
“I had a tough summer of training and now I want to hit the season hard, put in some good performances and try and impress the guys in charge at England and push for a place.
“I set myself long-term goals. One of them had been to be involved in this World Cup. That didn’t happen, so the next goal now is to try and get back into the England frame.
“Starting the big games for Bath will give me the chance to compete at that higher level.”
Thomas’s battle at Bath with Wilson is set to be intense, with 44-cap Wilson himself having a point to prove having made just one appearance during the World Cup, coming off the bench against Uruguay.
“Davey’s disappointed,” Thomas told TRP. “He wanted more opportunity during the World Cup and now he just wants to play at Bath and compete for that No.3 jersey.
“It’s a long year – 26 games on the bounce – so there’ll be lots of game-time for both of us.
“It’s good to have Davey back because it pushes me to perform better. There are little battles with Davey over who’ll be starting the bigger games – we both want to be starting those.”
TOM BRADSHAW