If reports are to believed, England head coach Eddie Jones has been impressed by energetic Bristol Bears flanker Dan Thomas.
Having lived in England since he joined Gloucester in 2014, the 26-year-old from Carmarthen may have a big decision to make in the near future.
The first time I saw Thomas play was scoring a hat-trick for Hartpury College against Fylde RFC up near Blackpool in 2015, and he was the focus of much admiration in the post-match clubhouse discussion.
More recently, BT Sport pundit David Flatman called him one of the best in England, while Stuart Barnes singled him out for praise in the Times last week.
“If asked to summarise Bristol in one name, I would say “Dan Thomas”,” wrote Barnes.
Fellow Welshman and Leicester back-rower Tommy Reffell has also been linked with a potential England call-up.
The 21-year-old was born in Bridgend and came through in the Ospreys age-group set-up before moving to Leicester at 15.
He went on to captain Wales at Under 18 level and then in the Under 20s at the junior World Cup in 2018.
His classical openside qualities have earned comparison with the iconic ex-Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton.
However, it’s now been suggested Jones will reportedly meet with the back-rower in the coming week to discuss whether he’d be interested in switching allegiances.
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LIST | 6 players who could have played for other countries but didn’t
1. James Haskell – Wales
The hulking England forward opened up about his Welsh heritage to BBC Wales. He said: “I’m actually half Welsh, and I’m fully Welsh qualified, so I could have quite happily played for Wales,”
