I don't try and coax people to come out because it needs to be right for them as an individual but when I speak to some people I realise that the power and influence that famous sportspeople have is amazing and to show such a positive message can change the world.

Gareth Thomas

Sports Power Positive

My brain acts bizarrely and I keep having major mood swings.

Gareth Thomas

Wings Wing Win

This journey of education and breaking stigma around HIV is something that will have a legacy everlasting.

Gareth Thomas

Education Will UN

Everything I do, I do it being myself.

Gareth Thomas

Very Thing Thin

My sport was my comfort. The routine, the camaraderie, the team... everyone's around you. After rugby you're on your own.

Gareth Thomas

Your You Very

I'm a sportsman, as good and strong as you, who just happens to be gay.

Gareth Thomas

Sports Good You

It's not about shutting people up or proving them wrong. It's about proving to ourselves what we're about.

Gareth Thomas

Wrong Up Tin

I was able to come out as gay publicly because my family had accepted me. They thought nothing of it, and without them I wouldn't have been able to do it. If I didn't have them in my life I would have felt like I had no one.

Gareth Thomas

Life Family Would

Every gay man will tell you that 'coming out' is like a weight lifted from your shoulders and beng able to walk down the street knowing that there is nothing for me to hide has been a liberating experience.

Gareth Thomas

Experience Your You

It has always been my ambition to be captain of Wales over a sustained period of time.

Gareth Thomas

Time Ways Way

When I got married to my ex-wife, Jemma, I took my vows very, very seriously. I've been brought up with good values and I don't go into anything thinking: this is just for the sake of it - it's not going to last.

Gareth Thomas

Good Wit Wife

I'm terrible for road rage.

Gareth Thomas

Age Terrible T

Wherever I am in my life, it's because rugby has enabled me to do that.

Gareth Thomas

Life Wherever Where

I am not interested in individual glory.

Gareth Thomas

Ted T Rested

I was never ever attracted to any of my rugby mates; I was really good at switching off my emotions and I wouldn't have even considered crossing that line.

Gareth Thomas

Good Would Witch

People say getting fit is 90% diet and 10% exercise, but that's bollocks. If you train hard you earn the right to a chocolate bar.

Gareth Thomas

Diet You Train

I don't take any day for granted, I work hard, I'm motivated.

Gareth Thomas

Work Work Hard Ted

Gay men are accepted in films, music and politics because people came out and broke the mould and stereotype in those industries. What I am trying to do is break the trend in rugby and sport in general and show any aspiring sportsman, regardless of his age, that the mould has been broken.

Gareth Thomas

Sports Politics Music

If you add children to a marriage, they bring a different dimension to the relationship. If I'd had a child and I believed it would have made my child's life better by not coming out, the chances are I wouldn't have done it. Because I think you do whatever it takes to make your child happy.

Gareth Thomas

Relationship Men Marriage

Sometimes, players find it impossible to see the bigger picture after games for the simple reason that we are the ones who have actually played.

Gareth Thomas

Time Who Times

Part of a sportsman's job is taking banter from the crowd.

Gareth Thomas

Sports Art Taking

The most famous man in the world has his down days. It's life. But, for me, the rainy moments are isolated moments. I'm always at least half-full. And the rest of the time I'm smiling - all the way up to the brim.

Gareth Thomas

All I'm concerned about is that I'm with a good squad of players and want us to be competitive and I'm not looking for anything more.

Gareth Thomas

As a professional sportsman, working out has always been an important part of my life.

Gareth Thomas

When the Wales squad met up for the 2005 autumn internationals, I was already concerned that we were slipping into bad habits. And, yes, the role of head coach Mike Ruddock was, in my opinion, becoming a problem that would eventually need to be addressed if nothing changed.

Gareth Thomas

My old man works in the postal service, my mum in a hospital and my brother in a factory. They're my family and when I play rugby I'm representing them. But coming out was different. More than anyone, I feared for my father. I used to be a postman myself and so I know that working environment.

Gareth Thomas

I don't try and coax people to come out because it needs to be right for them as an individual but when I speak to some people I realise that the power and influence that famous sportspeople have is amazing and to show such a positive message can change the world.

Gareth Thomas

I've been through the first cap, the 50th, and the 100th, and I defy any player who has ever gone past all those milestones to look at each of them and say that first cap isn't the one that makes him tingle the most.

Gareth Thomas

I became the master of playing the straight bat - I would go to bars with the boys, I would always be the one to start a fight, to be outrageous and drink the most. I even went to the extreme of marrying the perfect woman for me.

Gareth Thomas

I'm not going on a crusade but I'm proud of who I am. I feel I have achieved everything I could ever possibly have hoped to achieve out of rugby and I did it being gay. I want to send a positive message to other gay people that they can do it, too.

Gareth Thomas

You cannot afford to take any risks where your health is concerned.

Gareth Thomas

I know that my parents sacrificed a hell of a lot to make sure that my brothers and I would have all that we needed.

Gareth Thomas

My father always pretends to hate Christmas. But when we were children he was the first one waking us up, saying: 'Do you think Father Christmas has been yet?'

Gareth Thomas

I knew I was gay at 18, but to come out then would have meant I would not have achieved what I did in rugby. I loved rugby so much and it was so important to me that I made the decision to keep my sexuality secret. People may disagree with that, but it was my belief and my decision.

Gareth Thomas

My parents, my family and my friends all love me and accept me for who I am and, even if the public are upset by this, I know the love of those people who mean the most to me will never change.

Gareth Thomas

The rugby team is a massive part of the city and generates a real passion but there is also far more to Toulouse. I learned not only to respect the history of the club but also the area and I soon came to appreciate 'buildings and structures.

Gareth Thomas

In Toulouse, you immersed yourself in the culture of the place.

Gareth Thomas

There are excuses for dropping the ball or missing a tackle. But there are no excuses for not playing with a passion for your team-mates and as long as I get that response and they play well, I'll be happy.

Gareth Thomas

I hate driving.

Gareth Thomas

You tell that to people until you are blue in the face and they struggle to believe it, but I am being totally truthful when I say that all that matters to me is Wales winning.

Gareth Thomas

I don't know if my life is going to be easier because I'm out but, if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it.

Gareth Thomas

There are days when I wake up and do not know who I am any more.

Gareth Thomas

It was a huge honour to be chosen by the Lions and to lead the side, but the greatest of all is to represent your country and win.

Gareth Thomas

It's too easy to forget bad things. By keeping the reminders close, it's the reminder of not just who you are, but how you became what you are.

Gareth Thomas

I think what I want to learn more than anything... is that, I've got HIV and it's OK, like. That's what I want to learn more than anything.

Gareth Thomas

In 1999, we went into the World Cup with a string of victories behind us but we could not handle the pressure and ended up letting ourselves down.

Gareth Thomas

When I first started at Bridgend, I'd see the amount of work Rob Howley put in on his own after the team had all gone home. He was doing ridiculous amounts. So I started training like him. Always on my own.

Gareth Thomas

Toulouse expanded my game. You were given a freedom to play and express yourself on the field. Toulouse is the biggest club in Europe, rugby's equivalent of Real Madrid. Their game has always been about offloading and running but it is also physical, the complete 'package. It was always exciting, no matter how close a game was.

Gareth Thomas

I want to be a good person.

Gareth Thomas

The World Cup has not been kind to us overall.

Gareth Thomas

I don't care about the size of the crowd or other people's opinions - I just want us to perform.

Gareth Thomas