Young Gun: Teddy Thomas – Biarritz and France U20 winger
Zimbabwean-born American Ngwenya grabbed the world’s attention when he left Bryan Habana for dead six years ago in Montpellier, but his Biarritz teammate Thomas remains largely unknown this side of the channel.
Gloucester fans got a brief taste of what Thomas can do in the Amlin Cup last month when he scored a double on his European debut, while in the Top 14 he racked up four tries in as many starts after breaking into the team in the last couple of months.
It could have been one more but in the final game of the campaign, a thumping 52-17 win over Stade Français, Thomas sprinted under the posts only to gift his pal Ngwenya the score – as Wade and Varndell had done in an early season Premiership game.
And while his rugby idol remains a rather different sort of winger in Jonah Lomu, Thomas admits he couldn’t ask for a better mentor than the American.
He said: “My idol has always been Jonah Lomu, the greatest winger in the world. I adored him because he was both quick and powerful.
“But Zee and I share lots of things, even tries. He’s my model here and I learn everything from him.
“It was a bit unexpected for me to play as many games as I have but I’m delighted to have done so.
“But it’s an experience which helped me to grow and which will be useful for the Junior World Championship.”
Ngwenya and Thomas have clearly struck up a fruitful partnership. The American said: “Teddy is my protégé. I hope he’ll keep growing but he’s already very good for his age. When I see him, I see myself at the same age.
“I’m a little jealous, if I’d started rugby at the same age as him I’d probably be much better than I am now. But I’m pleased for Teddy because he’s a great bloke.”
Thomas is in the French U20 squad for next month’s JWC on home soil.
Les Bleuets, as the young team are known, mirrored their senior counterparts with a disappointing Six Nations campaign.
But after finishing fifth overall, the young winger is eager to put things right in a squad which also features full international Christopher Tolofua, although it will miss Toulouse star Gael Fickou, part of the senior squad for New Zealand.
He added: “I started with surfing but I moved on to rugby when I was about eight. I went through the age groups with Biarritz and then two years ago I got my first call-up to the French U18s.
“I was then able to continue through the ranks and be part of the Junior World Championship squad.
“We’re doing everything we can to put a disappointing Six Nations behind us. We have to perform well, especially with the tournament taking place in France. The goal is simple – to reach the final four.”
And while his name would appear more at home in South Wales than the Basque coast, Thomas revealed there was no chance of him pulling on the red jersey, despite teammate Aled Brew’s attempts to persuade him.
He said: “The Welsh haven’t tried to get me to play for them but it’s true that my name is pretty common over there.
“Aled Brew, my teammate at Biarritz talks to me about it a lot. But I can confirm I have no Welsh blood.”
