William Gwyn Thomas (22 October 1892 – 11 January 1984[2]) was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s who played rugby union (RU) for Cardiff and London Welsh, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, Wales and Other Nationalities, and at club level for Wigan and Huddersfield, as a fullback or centre.[3][4]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | William Gwyn Thomas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 Oct 1892 Treherbert, Glamorgan, Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 11 January 1984 (aged 91) Indian River, Florida, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10+3⁄4 in (179.7 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 12 st 6 lb (79 kg; 174 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Fullback, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Whilst playing for Wigan Thomas was selected to go on the 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, playing as a fullback in the second Test match of the Ashes series against Australia.
It was claimed that Thomas played rugby union for Barbarian F.C. against South Africa in November 1915.[5] However the Barbarians website say that it wasn't him, that instead it was another Gwyn Thomas who also played rugby union for Neath RFC.[6][7]
Whilst playing for Huddersfield Thomas was selected to go on the 1920 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia. He was vice-captain, and played at fullback in all three Test matches of the Ashes series. He also played in two Test matches against New Zealand.
During the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour Thomas was selected to play for Great Britain at fullback against Australia in all three test matches of the Ashes, which was won by the British.
References
edit- ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Thomas family crypt"
- ^ Williams, Graham; Lush, Peter; Farrar, David (2009). The British Rugby League Records Book. London League. pp. 108–114. ISBN 978-1-903659-49-6.
- ^ "The English Team". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ Collins, Tony (2006). Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain. UK: Taylor & Francis. p. 15. ISBN 9780415396141. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- ^ "Barbarians website profile". Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Neath website report". 13 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.