Thomas eager to tackle the tourists

WALES captain Gareth Thomas has played down the Six Nations champions’ crippling injury list ahead of their Millennium Stadium showdown with New Zealand, and declared: “I believe we can win.”

Toulouse star Thomas also feels the All Blacks will find a possible Grand Slam tour of Great Britain and Ireland an infinitely tougher assignment than last summer’s Lions Test series.

He returns to the international arena on Saturday, eight months after a broken thumb ended his Six Nations tournament halfway through.