Sidoli: Wales must overcome Thomas blow

Robert Sidoli admits skipper Gareth Thomas will be hugely missed when Wales run on to Lansdowne Road to face Ireland in Sunday’s Six Nations Championship clash.

But the Wales lock believes there is still enough character within a resilient squad to come through against the Irish.

Thomas pulled out of the weekend trip to Dublin after an MRI scan showed up a neck injury which could sideline him for up to 12 weeks.

It has left caretaker Wales coach Scott Johnson forced to name number-eight Michael Owen as captain and bring in Lee Byrne at full-back to fill the void left by Thomas.

“Gareth will be missed, firstly because he is an awesome player, but he is also a huge character and highly respected by the players,” said Sidoli.

“But last year we had to play the last two Six Nations games without him, and others came in and did well. The same can be true this time as well.

“The team meeting was a little bit quieter on Monday when Gareth wasn’t there, but everyone is fully focused on this weekend’s trip to Ireland.”

The loss of Thomas comes quickly on the heels of Mike Ruddock’s shock resignation as coach which has meant politics dominating every aspect of Welsh rugby recently.

But Sidoli believes the character of the squad will not be affected by off-the-field events going into Sunday’s Lansdowne Road showdown.

“I would not say resolve has been strengthened or weakened, it is just testament that it is there,” said Sidoli.

“Team spirit is still very strong, it always will be, and there is plenty of camaraderie to deal with this game on the weekend.

“Internally, when we are in camp, we are dealing with the circumstances quite well and everyone is pulling their weight.

“It is the outside factors, with the speculation and everything else, that is adding the pressure.

“But now we have been back in camp it’s not so bad. And with the game getting closer dy by day it is more easy to concentrate on the rugby side of things.

“Obviously these times have been testing and we’re just trying to stay as closed off as possible and together.

“When we won the Grand Slam last year a lot of comment was made by the players that it was a team effort that was started from a couple of years ago. The core element in this squad has been together for a long time.

“The foundations set there provided us with the platform to enable us to win the Grand Slam and that is still there for us to deal with this now.

“The hardest factor is when family and friends pick up things from the media and it has an effect on them. That is when it affects the camp.”

Sidoli, who scored his second Wales try in the 28-18 victory over Scotland at the Millennium Stadium a week last Sunday, is ready to move on from the Ruddock era.

Sidoli added: “We must not lose focus, especially with the times we’re having at the minute. So the focus is quite important and we’re confident in ourselves to do well.

“There’s very much a big team thing here and we’re dealing the circumstances quite well internally.

“Mike’s departure has happened, we just have to move on.”

Sidoli’s sentiments were backed up by Wales loosehead prop Duncan Jones with regards the events over he past 10 days.

“It is a difficult time and it has been well documented,” said Jones.

“But as a squad we are trying to prepare as well as we can for the weekend. As a group we realise we have got a game to play and we can’t control anything on the outside.

“Any international is a high pressured match, regardless of what has gone on and we know we have to produce a big performance this weekend.”