Gareth Daffyd Thomas: Now that's funny!

Ever since the admission by Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas that he's a pillow-biting shirtlifter (You got a problem with that? We didn't think so.) was first reported in a homophobic agony aunt feature in The Daily Mail, we've awaited the other snigering schoolboy headlines from the real down-and-dirty tabs.

But the hedder in The Sun? Fackin' sublime.


For those who aren't fans of Little Britain, the Sun headline refers to the comedy series' character Daffyd Thomas, who lives in the Welsh mining village of Llanddewi Brefi, is a self-proclaimed gay man who dresses in a vast variety of tight PVC and latex rubber clothing and proudly proclaims that he is "the only gay in the village," when in fact, there is a huge gay community in his village and the surrounding area that he utterly refuses to associate with-- a background that could be a hint that The Sun was also commenting on Gareth Thomas' rugby colleagues.

Rugby star comes out, journos giggle

The UK Daily Mail has always been a middle-of-the-road tabloid and a primary source for gossip and entertainment news, sho it's a little surprising today to see the old school homophobia popping up in its exclusive report that a rugby star has announced that he's gay.

Yes, British Lions legend Gareth Thomas is a poof. And what are you going to do about it?

The Daily Mail will report the news about the 35-year-old former Wales and Lions captain, uh... straight-faced:

"...he has one of the fiercest reputations on the field, and a row of missing front teeth to prove it.

"At 6ft 3in and 16st of pure muscle, his masculinity has always been an absolute given."


The notion that masculinity and athletic prowess are somehow at odds with same-sex preference is quaint to say the least, but the old-school double standards rears its head there, but it's the punning that follows that belongs back at boarding school where the older boys-- you get the picture:

"...But, as he admits in the Daily Mail today, it was all a pretence, a fragile artifice - and one which came crashing down around his ears on November 4, 2006, following a Wales game in Cardiff...

"Breaking down in tears in the changing rooms of the Millennium Stadium, Gareth finally realised he could not go on living a lie. Keeping his true sexuality a secret was destroying him."

Really? A 'fragile artifice'? 'Crashing down around his ears'? (as in 'arse'?) The big macho rugger weeping like a ninny? Really?


Three cheers for Gareth Thomas.

Give him a hand. It must be hard for him. No pun intended.