Welsh Rugby Union - WARNING FROM PICKERING

Stephen Jones may finally have left France to head to New Zealand on Sunday, having helped Clermont Auvergne clinch their Heineken Cup place next season with a home win over Agen, but Heineken Cup winner Thomas could remain in France until the end of the French Championship play-offs on 11 June.

That would mean Thomas missing the first four Lions matches and not being able to press his claims for a Test place against the All Blacks until the game against Otago in Dunedin on 18 June.

“There is nothing the WRU can do to influence the decision of Toulouse. They don’t have to release Gareth until their season has been completed,” said Pickering, who is also a member of the Lions committee. “It is desperately disappointing for Gareth, but it is one of the consequences of the decision that both he and Stephen took to leave Wales and play in France. The WRU is able to negotiate with other Unions to try to get our international players released for Test matches that fall outside the formal IRB agreement, but it is getting harder and harder.

“That’s what the Lions are experiencing now and neither Clive Woodward nor Gareth and Stephen would have wanted to be in this situation. You wonder if in future a player who is playing in France might not be considered for Lions selection if this is going to happen again.

“We obviously want our international players to be playing at the highest possible level and we believe that the best place for them to be playing is in one of the four regional sides in Wales. Then this sort of problem would not arise.”

While Thomas’s Toulouse team have guaranteed a place in the Heineken Cup next season by winning the title for a fourth time last weekend, their coach Guy Noves is very keen to break the two year stranglehold of arch-rivals Stade Francais Paris on the French Championship. That’s why the Welsh skipper is still stuck in France rather than being in New Zealand.

Toulouse play their final league game against Auch at home this weekend, while Clermont Auvergne have to beat Agen with a try bonus point to bag the seventh and final Heineken Cup place. If they don’t, Jones will be condemned to a second successive season of European Challenge Cup rugby.

Toulouse will learn over the weekend who they will play in the French Championship semi-finals on 3/4 June. If they win that game they will progress to the final at Stade de France on Saturday, 11 June.

“The new regional system in Wales is set to enter its third season and there are very encouraging signs that the clubs and the players are settling down together to get the most out of their seasons. We want the Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets to be both competitive and successful in Europe, as well as providing fit and well prepared players for the international stage,” added Pickering. “It has been fantastic to see the majority of our Grand Slam stars pledge their futures to regional teams here in Wales.

“Gavin Henson, Shane Williams, Gareth Cooper and Mike Phillips all took the view that the system in Wales can provide them with all they need to reach the very top in their profession and earn a competitive wage.

“If our top players stick with us, we will do right by them. That’s the simple message.”