George W. Thomas (1881 – 3 July 1916), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

s of "Ponty" and "Stitch", 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 it ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played club rugby union (RU) for Pontnewydd RFC and Newport RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

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 ...

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, and at club level for

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, as a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

-kicking forward.

Background

George Thomas was born in

Pontnewydd Pontnewydd is a suburb of Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen, south-east Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewynydd in nearby Pontypool. An 18th century settlement within the historical parish of Llanfrechfa Upper, Pontnewydd bec ...

, Wales, he died aged 35 at the Somme on 3 July 1916 while serving with the

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Re ...

of the British Army. Thomas originally played rugby under the

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

code in Wales, where he represented Pontnewydd and Newport. He left Newport in 1903 to join Warrington, severing his links with rugby union.

Playing career

International honours

George Thomas won international

Cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s while playing under the league code while at Warrington, but for three different teams. Thomas played for

in the country's first international when they faced the touring New Zealand All Golds at Abardare in 1908. He then faced the same touring New Zealand team later in the year, but at this point he was representing

, he also represented the

Challenge Cup Final appearances

George Thomas played as a forward in

's 3–8 defeat by Halifax in the

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1903–04 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Saturday 30 April 1904, in front of a crowd of 17,041,Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 8 – 1903–04". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a played as a forward in the 6–0 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challen ...

in the

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1904–05 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

on 29 April 1905, in front of a crowd of 19,638,Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 9 – 1904–05". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a played as a forward in the 17–3 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

in the 1906–07 Challenge Cup Final during the 1906–07 season at

Wheater's Field Wheater's Field was a rugby ground in Broughton, Salford, England. It was home to the Broughton Rangers rugby league club of the Northern Union. On 19 October 1907, the stadium hosted a match between Rangers and the New Zealand All Golds. It ...

, Broughton, Salford on Saturday Saturday 27 April 1907, in front of a crowd of 18,500,Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 11 – 1906–07". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a and played as a forward in the 5–9 defeat by

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

in the

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1912–13 season at

on Saturday 26 April 1913, in front of a crowd of 22,754.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 17 – 1912–13". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

Notable tour matches

George Thomas played as a forward in

's 10–3 victory over Australia in the

1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the first ever such tour for the newly-formed Australia national rugby league team (or 'The Kangaroos'). The tour was to England and Wales and coincided with the first Wallabies Rugby Union tour of ...

tour match during the 1908–09 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

, Saturday 14 November 1908, in front of a crowd of 5,000, due to the strikes in the cotton mills, the attendance was badly affected, the loss of earnings meant that some fans could not afford to watch the first tour by the Australian rugby league team.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 13 – 1908–09". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

Club career

George Thomas transferred from Pontnewydd RFC to Newport RFC, he changed

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

codes from

when transferred from Newport RFC to

, he made his début for Warrington in the 8–3 victory over Leigh at

in 1903, and he played his last match for Warrington in the 5–8 defeat by

Broughton Rangers Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester ...

in 1914.

Career records

George Thomas played as a forward, and scored 5- tries, and 9- conversions for 33-points (worth 38-points in the current 4-points per try era) in the 78–6 victory over St. Helens at

on Monday 12 April 1909, this remained the highest points in a match for Warrington player until

Lee Briers Lee Paul Briers (born 14 June 1978) is a professional rugby league coach who is on the coaching staff of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL, and a former Wales international rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Gr ...

scored 40-points (3-tries and 14-conversions) in the 84–1 victory over

York Wasps The York Wasps (known simply as York from 1868 to 1989, Ryedale-York from 1989 to 1996 and York Wasps from 1996 to 2002) was an English professional rugby league club based in York. At the start of the 2002 season, the club was dissolved. A ne ...

in the Challenge Cup at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Sunday 27 February 2000, this was subsequently extended by Lee Briers to 44-points (3-tries and 16-conversions) in the 112–0 victory over Swinton Lions in the Challenge Cup at

Halliwell Jones Stadium The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England, which is the home ground of the Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day, ...

, Warrington on Friday 20 May 2011.

Honoured at Warrington Wolves

George Thomas is a Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame inductee.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, George 1881 births 1916 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Newport RFC players Rugby league forwards Military personnel from Torfaen Rugby league players from Cwmbran Rugby league players from Torfaen Rugby union players from Cwmbran South Lancashire Regiment soldiers Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players