Owens: Rugby reaction will surprise Thomas

Nigel Owens has assured Wales full-back Gareth Thomas he will be “very pleasantly surprised” by the reaction of the rugby world to his coming out.

Thomas last night said he was “anxious about people’s reactions” after announcing that he is gay and said he had been through “all sorts of emotions” over the issue.

But the 35-year-old Cardiff Blues star – Wales’ most-capped player and a former British and Irish Lions captain – told the Daily Mail he did not want to be known as a “gay rugby player”

“I’ve been through all sorts of emotions with this, tears, anger and absolute despair,” he told the newspaper.

“I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to let people know and, to be honest, I feel anxious about people’s reactions and the effect it might have on my family.”

However, leading referee Owens – who came out in 2007 – believes Thomas’ fears will prove unfounded.

Owens told Five Live: “I’m up in Leicester and was talking to some of my fellow officials last night at dinner when I heard this news and their reaction was ’well, so what, what is the big news?’

“I can understand why it is big news because he’s the first professional rugby player to come out but as far as people are concerned it’s just a case of ’so what, let’s just get on with it’.

“It comes with a bit of a taboo, still, that you will be known as ’the gay rugby player’, probably as I am known now as ’the gay referee’.

“It certainly has died down but there’s still that bit of stigma that you can expect from certain people.

“But as far as the rugby community goes as a whole, I’m sure he will be very pleasantly surprised, like I was, that you’re able to just get on with it.”

As for the reaction from the stands and the rugby public, Owens added: “I don’t think he’s going to have any issues at all and neither should he. You’re going to get some issues probably from some individuals, maybe, and that’s what you get across society as a whole.

“But I think people will respect him as a person and a rugby player and that’s the most important thing.”

London Irish scrum-half Paul Hodgson added: “He’s a fantastic rugby player and as has been said already, that’s the main thing.

“He’s a rugby player first and whatever he does in his personal life is obviously down to him and I’ve got huge respect for the guy, especially what he might have been through.

“To have come out, he’ll probably get more respect for it.”