Rugby: Gareth Thomas hits out at England

Gareth Thomas says he had 'a hatred for the English jersey'. Photo / Getty Images

Ali Williams reckons he didn't really say everybody hates the English. But retired Welsh star Gareth Thomas has no such qualms.

Former All Black Williams caused a ruckus with a column in a French newspaper last week where he claimed English rugby fans were the worst in the world and that all major international rugby teams deeply disliked the English team. He later claimed his words were "lost in translation".

But Thomas didn't mince his words in a column in the Times of London published ahead of the critical "Pool of Death" group match between England and Wales this Sunday.

"The Stereophonics even wrote a song about it - As Long As We Beat The English. That sums up what victory over England means," wrote the former Wales and British Lions skipper who famously "came out" as gay after retiring in 2011.

"When I played England I had a hatred for the English jersey. I used to love playing for Wales and to have a hatred for the English jersey showed how much I loved Wales, my country. It was, and is, a fierce rivalry and as a competitor you had to hate them.

"In Proud, my autobiography, I wrote that I hated Matt Dawson, Will Greenwood, Richard Hill and Lawrence Dallaglio when they wore the white shirt of England. They epitomised the arrogance of the Empire.

"If Wales beat England but lose to Australia next week, the nation will be happier than if Wales lose to England and then beat Australia.

"It's not just the historical stuff between England and Wales. It's that this is the game when everyone in Wales comes together. It drove me on as a captain and as a player. I used to try not to use what might be seen as historical injustices to motivate myself and my team. I wanted us to have our own motivation and, speaking for myself, I got it by thinking of what it meant to the country.

"It meant 80 minutes of rugby against one particular team and if we won I knew that would make three million people happy. The reason I played rugby was not only because I enjoyed it, but also because I wanted to make people happy.

"The significance of victory over England was huge. It meant three million people going to work on Monday with a smile on their faces and a skip in their step. It meant that we had given Wales a platform, a voice against the bigger nations and, in England's case, the biggest nation.

"People don't understand Wales, what it stands for. They only understand England. They know London. So to beat England was to give voice to a nation, to create history."

- nzherald.co.nz