David John Thomas (15 March 1879 – 19 October 1925) was a Welsh international forward who played club rugby for
Swansea Rugby Club. He won ten caps for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and is most notable for scoring the only try in Swansea's win over
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in 1912.
Rugby career
Thomas played for several clubs throughout his career, all within the
Swansea area, including his home town club of
Dunvant
Dunvant ( cy, Dyfnant) (Dyfn - deep; nant - stream or brook) is a suburban district and community (parish) in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and falls within the Dunvant ward. It is situated in a valley some 4.5 miles west of Swansea cit ...
. By 1904 Thomas was playing club rugby for first class Welsh team Swansea, and on 9 January he played his first international match when he was selected to face England as part of the
1904 Home Nations Championship
The 1904 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 9 January and 19 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Table
Results
...
. Thomas, along with
John Evans of
Blaina
Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county o ...
was one of two new caps brought into the Welsh squad, both into forward positions. Under the captaincy of
Gwyn Nicholls, the Welsh team managed a 14-all draw, and both Thomas and Evans were dropped for the next game. Thomas' international career seemed behind him as he was left out of the rest of the 1904 Championship, and then ignored for the 1905 Championships.
In late 1905, Thomas was part of the Swansea team that faced
the Original All Blacks
The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...
in the
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
team's first overseas tour.
[Billot (1972), pg 44.] Captained by
Frank Gordon, Swansea ran the tourist close in a 4–3 loss.
Thomas spent the next three seasons at Swansea, still without a second international call-up, but in late 1908 the Welsh selectors chose Thomas to face the
first touring Australian team. The game was a tight affair, with Wales winning through a
Bert Winfield penalty. Two weeks later, Thomas faced the Australians again when the tourists played Swansea at
St. Helen's ground.
Swansea 6 Australia 0 (1908)
Swansearfc.co.uk Swansea won the game through an Edgar Morgan try
Try or TRY may refer to:
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* ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio
* ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs
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and a Jack Bancroft
Jack Bancroft (9 October 1879 – 7 January 1942),
Scrum.com born John Bancroft, was a Wales, Welsh cricketer, and rugby union ...
penalty, it was Swansea's first victory over international opposition. One month later, despite playing in two wins over the Wallabies, Thomas was replaced for the opening game of the 1909 Home Nations Championship
The 1909 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 16 January and 20 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Although not offici ...
match by Jake Blackmore
Joseph Henry "Jake" Blackmore (unknown - 26 March 1964)
Scrum.com was an international Abertillery
Abertillery (; cy, Abertyleri) is a town and a community of the Ebbw Fach valley in the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area ...
. Even when Blackmore was replaced after his first and only appearance, the selectors still did not turn to Thomas, and he was forced to wait another season until he played for Wales again.
Thomas was next chosen to represent Wales for the England match of the 1910 Five Nations Championship
The 1910 Five Nations Championship was the first 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 twenty-eig ...
, now renamed as France had joined the tournament. Although Wales lost the game, it began a run of appearances for Thomas who played in the next seven Wales matches. Having not been selected for the 1905, 1908 and 1909 Championship winning Welsh teams, Thomas was part of the 1911 Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Tri ...
winning side. After 1911, Thomas played in one final Welsh international game, an away loss to England in 1912.
Although his international career was behind him, Thomas' most notable rugby moment came in 1912 when he played in the Swansea win over the touring South African team. Under the captaincy of Billy Trew, Thomas was part of the pack that was decisive in the single try victory over the Springboks. In the first half of the game, under Swansea pressure a scrum went down on the South African 20-yard line. The Swansea forwards wheeled the scrum and kicked and chased the ball towards the South African line. Thomas was the first to the ball and scored the winning try.[Billot (1974), pg 122.] The next season, Swansea rewarded Thomas with the captaincy of the senior team.
International matches played
Wales[Smith (1980), pg 472.]
* 1908
* 1904, 1910, 1911, 1912
* 1911
* 1910, 1911
* 1910, 1911
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, David John
1879 births
1925 deaths
Gowerton RFC players
Rugby union forwards
Rugby union players from Swansea
Swansea RFC players
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh miners
Welsh rugby union players