David 'Dai' Thomas (30 March 1909 – ?) was a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

lock who played international rugby for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and club rugby for

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. During the 1934/35 season, Thomas was captain of the Swansea first XV.

Rugby career

Thomas first played for Wales during the

1930 Five Nations Championship The 1930 Five Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty-th ...

against Scotland at Murrayfield. Wales lost by a last minute dropped goal, but Thomas was back for the very next match of the tournament against Ireland, but missed the final, bruising game against France, since referred to as the 'Battle of Colombes'. Thomas was failed to be selected for the entire 1931 Championship, but during that time was amongst the Swansea team that faced the touring

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

. Thomas was not selected for the Welsh international against the Springboks, but represented his country for all three games of the

1932 Home Nations Championship The 1932 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-fifth series of the nor ...

before sporadic appearances over the next two years that saw only two caps. Thomas managed to regain his position in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

and played all three games under the captaincy of

Claude Davey Claude Davey (14 December 1908 – 18 February 2001) was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times. Dave ...

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 472. * 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 * 1930, 1932, 1935 * 1930, 1932, 1933, 1935

Biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Dai 1909 births Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Swansea Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh police officers category:Glamorgan Police officers Welsh rugby union players Year of death unknown