BATH have a war chest of world-class forwards but Henry Thomas believes it won’t be long before he grabs his chance to lead the pack into battle.

Mike Ford has the luxury of picking between two England tight-heads after Thomas joined from Sale to complement Davey Wilson and bolster an already powerful frontline.

Seniority has won out so far with Wilson dominating in the Premiership and, though they replaced each other for the European clash with Glasgow, it returned to normal for Toulouse.

This weekend’s LV= Cup clash with London Welsh at the Rec (3pm) could prove another opportunity for Thomas to stake his claim as Bath aim to go one further than last season’s semi-final exit.

But Thomas insists the work being done off the pitch with a dominant pack is already making him a better player.

“For me it’s about consistency and working hard with the squad I’ve got around me,” he said.

“When you’ve got players such as Dave Attwood, Dominic Day, Matt Garvey all doing the right things behind you, and if you give someone like Leroy Houston the platform as well, you are going to enjoy a lot of success with your pack.

“We do a lot of team-based stuff in training and go through the video, brushing up on technical parts of where you can improve. And if you’re not doing your extra work you will quickly get found out. It’s been a pack which in the last 24 months or so has improved every week and that’s why.

“I would have liked to have started as much as I can but if you look at how much Davey and I have played, he’s only had 15 or 20 more minutes than me every game as I’ve been coming on early in the second half.

“No one’s happy with a place on the bench but Davey is a quality player – when I get the chance to put a marker down I need to chase it.”

Thomas is no stranger to the LV= Cup after helping Sale all the way to the final in 2013 before losing to Harlequins.

On paper this year’s opener could see Bath sharpening their knives – Welsh have made a losing start to the Premiership – but Thomas has warned the Rec outfit that the Exiles could start to click.

“The LV= Cup is a good opportunity for everyone who’s not playing as much as they’d like – by no means will there be a dip in quality, we have so many good players in our squad,” he added.

“I was part of the Sale team that got to the final a few years ago and this team want to do the same. London Welsh can get under our skin because they are desperate for a win and that’s when teams can often shock you.

“They’ve not got terrible players; they’ve got some real quality, and are still gelling.”

Round 1 of the LV= Cup starts this weekend Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 November. For more information visit lv.com/rugby or follow @LVRugby