Arwel Thomas says he is back enjoying himself again after returning to rugby following a period of away from the game which left feeling "bitter and twisted".
The former Swansea and Neath fly-half, who was capped 23 times for his country and made his debut for Wales at the tender age of 21, has been back involved in coaching over at Morriston RFC with head coach Paul Thomas since 2019.
Thomas was, as of last year, working for Henry Schein dental as a sales representative but has for the past four years been imparting his vast rugby knowledge and experience with the north Swansea club.
There was a time, however, where he felt with despondent with the direction rugby was heading in and the subsequent break from the game was down to being fed up with how it was being coached, he admitted.
“I hadn’t done anything for a while. I was three or four years out of it all,” he told the WRU. “Then I got approached by Morriston. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure originally. I was thinking ‘shall I, shan’t I?’ because it’s emotional.
“I was a bit fed up with rugby, how it was going and how it was coached. The game wasn’t really that exciting. It was crash, bang, wallop. I suppose I felt a bit bitter and twisted and a bit hard done by.
“But I watched a couple of games at Morriston and I was really impressed. I have just really enjoyed it here. It’s been good. The boys are keen. You watch the games and it’s proper edge-of-the seat stuff. We tend to have a go. We are a decent side.
“Paul is in charge and drives the patterns that we play. He is really organised. I have come in and just helped out a little bit. I just tweak the backs a bit and try and make the boys feel excited about having a go. I am just here enjoying myself.”
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Morriston enjoyed a stellar season, gaining promotion to Division One West Central and also winning both the WRU Division Two Cup and the Glamorgan County Silver Ball.
Arwel the coach clearly views things the same way as Arwel the international player, if Paul Thomas' words are anything to go by.
“Before the Division Two cup final against Aberdare at the stadium, he (Arwel) said: ‘I’m more nervous now than I was playing for Wales’," said Paul.
Forty-eight-year-old Arwel is clearly happy to be hands-on in rugby again and feels Morriston can be competitive after achieving promotion to Division One.
“It will be another test for us and we are going to give it our best shot," he said. "The target will be let’s see if we can jump up again. I know we will be competitive. People will be keeping an eye on us because we have got a good bunch of boys.
“We have got everything here. We have got a really nice clubhouse, the pitch is top notch, we have got a gym where the boys can train, the committee are 100 per cent behind the team.”
He added: “When I was playing, people were keen to say something like ‘Unlucky, you were this, you were that’.
“Now, with coaching Morriston, we have gone to places like Cilfynydd, Caerphilly, Builth Wells, Ystradgynlais.
“About four or five times, random people have come up to me and said ‘The team is playing a really nice brand of rugby, you have got a really good side there’.
“It's just nice and I want the boys to understand that. It’s all down to the players and Paul’s preparation. It’s just nice to be part of it. I really am grateful.”
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