Nobody was going to stop me Gareth Thomas Hansen happy with legacy Report: Wales 44-10 Italy

"Ieuan is a legend to me and to all Welsh rugby," said the full-back after scoring his 34th international try in the 44-10 win over Italy in Cardiff.

"I'm lucky enough to have played with him and I learnt a lot, he's one of the best wings we've ever had.

"To be mentioned alongside him means I've achieved more in my career than I ever thought possible."

Thomas added: "It's a great achievement, but what I'm really glad about is to have done it with this group of boys, we've stuck together through some tough times.

"When I got the ball it was just a case of putting my head down and going for it, nobody was going to stop me.

WALES' TOP TRY SCORERS 1. Gareth Thomas 34 tries, 77 caps 2. Ieuan Evans 33 tries, 72 caps 3. Gerald Davies 20 tries, 46 caps = Gareth Edwards 20 tries, 53 caps

"I had some stick for not doing my 'Ayatollah' try celebration at Twickenham. I wasn't sure I'd scored then, but this time I really made sure I got it out!"

Thomas, 29, remains hungry to extend his try record and add to his collection of 77 caps.

"Hopefully there are more tries to come. I am going to carry on as I am really enjoying my rugby now and just love being around the bunch of guys we have got in the squad.

"Mike Ruddock is coming in as the new coach, so the first thing is to impress him, get with his plans and fit in with the way he wants to play rugby.

"It was good to see the send-off that Steve Hansen got in his last game in charge, though.

"He had a plan and stuck to it and our hard work is finally paying off. It was nice that the Welsh public could finally see that."