Thomas joins Sherratt's interim Wales coaching team

Rhys Thomas made 27 appearances for Wales and played for Cardiff, Wasps and Dragons

Men's Six Nations: Wales v Ireland

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 22 February Kick-off: 14:15 GMT

Coverage: Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC 5 Live; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on S4C.

Former Wales hooker Rhys Thomas will join interim head coach Matt Sherratt's backroom team as a skills coach for the remainder of the 2025 Six Nations.

Thomas, 42, joins on secondment from Gloucester and will return to the Premiership side after Wales' games against Ireland, Scotland and England.

Cardiff head coach Sherratt was put in charge last week following the departure of head coach Warren Gatland, who had overseen a record run of 14 consecutive Test defeats.

Thomas will have a responsibility for forwards skills alongside forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys and scrum specialist Adam Jones.

"It's all happened very quickly over the past few days, but I'm excited for the challenge and looking forward to getting stuck in," said Thomas.

Gatland's long-term assistant Rob Howley - a former interim head coach himself - has also stepped aside from the senior team but remains contracted to the Welsh Rugby Union.

But defence coach Mike Forshaw said he did not consider his own position when Gatland left, despite Wales conceding 53 tries in the last 13 games - an average of more than four a game.

"No, not at all. I'm here until the end of the summer so I'll continue doing my job and then we'll see what happens with the powers that be," he told a press conference on Monday.

"I'll keep working through the rest of this campaign to get the best out of the players."

'Excited to start'

Sherratt joined up with his new staff and squad on Sunday, having travelled with club side Cardiff for Saturday's narrow defeat at Connacht.

"I'm excited to officially start in the role now and get preparations under way for our match against Ireland on Saturday," said Sherratt.

"I'm delighted that TR [Thomas] will be joining the coaching team. Having known him for a number of years, I think he will be a great fit for the group."

Wales are bottom of the Six Nations after defeats in France and Italy - and facing the prospect of a second consecutive Wooden Spoon.

They take on Ireland on 22 February in Cardiff before games against Scotland on 8 March and England on 15 March.