There are certain jerseys at rugby clubs that are revered by those who wear them and by supporters who follow those teams.
At Newcastle Falcons, the shirt in question is the No. 10 jersey previously worn with distinction by Jonny Wilkinson. In it, the England World Cup winner amassed almost 2,000 points over his 12 years with the club.
Follow that, all who play at fly-half for the Falcons ever after.
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In the coming term, Josh Thomas will have his sights trained on the role.
Quietly, the young Welshman has left the professional scene in Wales to try his luck in the famous football city in the north east of England. It’s a bold move by the Welsh speaker who attended Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr in Swansea, but if it comes off it could be the making of him. Quick and with an eye for a gap, he’ll want to showcase his playmaking skills and justify the Falcons’ faith in him.
Howay the lad, indeed.
Nothing has displeased him about his new surroundings to date. “It’s been really good so far,” he told the club’s website. “I’ve been excited to get into it, we’ve had a tough few weeks but I’ve learned a lot.
“I’ve worked closely with Brett Connon and Tian Schoeman as fly-halves and gained a lot from that, as well as guys like Mark Laycock and Dave Walder on the coaching team.
“I’ve really enjoyed the block as a whole, even though I missed the first couple of days after testing positive for Covid. That’s thankfully behind me now and I’ve had a good few weeks up here with the boys.”
It will be intriguing to see how Thomas fares.
The former Wales U20s player prides himself on the attacking game which he memorably brought to the fore against Leinster in Dublin in 2021 with a match-winning cameo off the bench that included a try and three conversions in 17 minutes. You can read about the famous win here.
But he needs game exposure, a point made by Ospreys head coach Toby Booth when Thomas’ move to Newcastle was announced in May. In Swansea, he had internationals to compete with in Gareth Anscombe and Stephen Myler, making it hard for him to have a run of games. But when he did feature he was bright and alert and tried to take play to the opposition.
Falcons head coach Dave Walder, a former fly-half himself, sees a role for him at Newcastle, saying after signing Thomas: “I like Josh’s attacking outlook, he loves to attack and he plays the game with a smile on his face.
“He’s a left-foot kicking option, he challenges the defensive line and he’s a great fit for how we’re looking to play.”
For Thomas, the new season promises to be an exciting one.
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