So she made an effort to time it for a break in the busy club football calendar he has been subject to ever since he moved to the Netherlands as a teenager. The March 2026 international window.
At the time – about 18 months ago – there was no reason to believe he would be busy then.
His most recent All Whites appearance had come in November 2019, five years earlier, before a series of injuries left him barely playing at any level.
“I wasn't in the picture for the All Whites,” Thomas said on Friday after they lost to Finland at Eden Park. “I didn't think I was coming back to the All Whites, to be honest. So I told her yeah, do it in March in '26 and then I'll 100% have days off.”............
.......But if the stars hadn't aligned, he would have been absent this month, for what are the team's last matches before their World Cup squad is named.
“I spoke to Baze last year about it when I came back into the group and he was open that family comes first.”
A stroke of good fortune came when the All Whites secured two home matches this month – the second is also at Eden Park, against Chile on Monday – rather than playing in Europe.
"Lucky for us we can combine [the All Whites’ matches and the wedding]..
“It was good that I could come back here, play the game [on Friday, then go to the wedding on Saturday], and then I'll be involved again on Monday."
Ryan's parents were at Eden Park to watch Friday's match, but were on their way home to Te Puke afterwards for Haley's big day.
The midfielder isn't due back in camp until Sunday evening and appears set for a bench role against Chile.
He was also managing a minor niggle from Friday's match, but indicated afterwards that shouldn't be a major concern.
His place in the starting XI is likely to be taken by Joe Bell, who has been managing his own calf niggle, but came off the bench to play 10 minutes on Friday.
Between their respective niggles and Thomas’ weekend away, the wait to see him, Bell and Marko Stamenić on the field at the same time could continue for the eighth match since Thomas’ return.
Though he has remained relatively coy in his public comments, it is understood Bazeley is eager to start all three of them, with Bell and Stamenić playing at the base of midfield and Thomas pushed forward, though there would also be a degree of fluidity.
In the All Whites’ seven matches since September, Stamenić and Thomas have started together at the base of midfield three times, Bell and Thomas twice, Bell and Stamenić once (after doing so 11 times previously under Bazeley) and Stamenić and Alex Rufer once.
Getting all three of Bell, Stamenić and Thomas on the pitch together is likely to help the All Whites fare better in the battle for control of midfield, which they’ll need to win if they are to get the World Cup win they are chasing in June.
Thomas said on Friday: “There’s a little bit of a running joke going on at the moment between us three.
“We’re very eager to play together, and you’ve got three players that play as a six [a defensive midfielder], so it'll be interesting to see how that dynamic works.
“Playing with Marko was great. He's going to be a driving force of this national team going forward for 10 – hopefully a little bit longer – years, so it's really good to play with him.
“Hopefully I get to play with both of them on Monday night, especially before the World Cup – we need to make sure we get some some reps in together as a three.
“But we’ve also got the games before the World Cup for that, so hopefully we'll be able to do that.”
For his part, Stamenić said: “I would definitely love to have all three playing at the same time”.
