Problems in Wales: Wales are waiting nervously to know if their captain Gareth Thomas will be fit to face Ireland in the Six Nations Championship on Sunday after he collapsed at home with a migraine, but team worries will not be the first thing on the mind of the Welsh Rugby Union's chief executive Steve Lewis before tonight's meeting of the board in Cardiff.

The union's member clubs are awaiting the outcome of the meeting, called to discuss last week's abrupt departure of the national coach Mike Ruddock, before deciding whether to call for a vote of no confidence in the governing body.

The requisite signatures from 10 clubs, needed to force an EGM, have been collected and feelings are running high against Lewis and the chairman David Pickering, who have been accused of not giving Ruddock their full backing.

Two weeks ago Ruddock told Lewis he would not be seeking a renewal of his contract when it expired in April following Lewis's decision to suspend talks over a new deal, and the WRU board members are angry that they were not informed.

"I think there should be an emergency general meeting of the clubs," said the Newport board member and former Wales outhalf David Watkins. "The clubs should know exactly what happened. There is a need for transparency and Steve Lewis has some questions to answer."

Ruddock's request to meet the 17-strong board and have them explain fully the circumstances which triggered his departure - last week he was asked to leave immediately having offered to stay for the duration of the Six Nations - was accepted with alacrity last week as speculation mounted that he was a victim of player power and that he had been undermined by the union's executive.

Lewis is currently negotiating his contract and the union has received complaints from clubs about his allegedly abrasive manner. Clubs are concerned not about the Ruddock affair alone but also with the failure to replace David Moffett, who resigned at the end of last year, as the WRU's group chief executive.

The acting Wales coach Scott Johnson will be looking to provide a diversion this evening when, 18 hours ahead of schedule, he names the team for Sunday's match at Lansdowne Road. Gavin Henson is expected to return to the 22.

Thomas last night spoke of the migraine attack which followed a heated interview appearance on the BBC Wales rugby magazine programme Scrum V that resulted in him being brought to Bridgend Hospital.

Thomas was flanked in the studio by two former Wales captains, Eddie Butler and Jonathan Davies. He had a couple of heated exchanges with Butler and, said his wife Jemma, when he returned home, he "could not sit still and kept pacing from corner to corner of the room. Ten minutes into the programme, he shouted out 'no' and clutched the left of his body. The last week has been stressful with all the rubbish said about him."

Thomas said he had thought he was going to die: "I was looking around the room as I slid off my chair fearing that I was seeing my family for the last time."

Thomas was released from hospital after tests. He was examined yesterday morning by the Wales team doctor, Prof John Williams, who diagnosed a severe migraine and told him to rest. Thomas is not a migraine sufferer and it is believed the stress of the previous week contributed to the attack, causing temporary paralysis.

Referring yesterday to the Thomas interview on the circumstances surrounding his (Ruddock's) sudden departure as Wales coach, Ruddock said: "It was interesting to hear Gareth confirm the players raised my name in a meeting with Steve Lewis.

"I would like to find out more on what that was about. I will use the opportunity during my meeting with the directors to answer any questions they may have and I will raise the issue of why we went into the Six Nations without having in place contracts for any of the three coaches involved in the grand slam.

"With reference to questions of player power, if there were disaffected players I will raise the issue of any support structure that should have been in place to deal immediately and appropriately with the matter," he added.