Henry Thomas (born 30 October 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Scarlets. At international level Thomas has played for both England and Wales; first making his debut for England in 2013, before representing Wales in 2023.

Club career

In the 2010–11 season, Thomas started as captain of

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

. Continuing his good performances for the Jets, in October he progressed to the senior squad, continuing to make 14 Premiership appearances in the season. In March 2013 he came off the bench for the Sale side that lost to Harlequins in the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup. In January 2014 it was announced that Thomas had signed for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. In his first season at the club he played in the 2015 Premiership final which saw Bath lose against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

to finish runners up. On 27 July 2021, Thomas left Bath after seven years with the club to join French side

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. They won the

2021–22 Top 14 season The 2021–22 Top 14 competition is the 123rd French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Teams Number of teams by regions Competition format The top six teams at the end of the reg ...

league title in his first season at the club. In January 2024 it was confirmed that Thomas would spend the remainder of the

2023–24 Top 14 season The 2023–24 Top 14 competition is the 125th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Format The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, ...

with

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the Sta ...

. After three years in France it was announced that Thomas would join Scarlets for the 2024–25 United Rugby Championship.

International career

England

Thomas represented England U20 during the

2011 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2011 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was a rugby union competition held between February and March 2011. England won the tournament along with the Grand Slam and the Triple Crown. Final table Results Round one Round two Round thr ...

and started in their decisive last fixture which saw them defeat Ireland to complete a grand slam. Later that year he scored a try against Ireland in their opening game of the

2011 IRB Junior World Championship The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship was the fourth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby's ...

. He also scored a try in the final which they lost against New Zealand to finish runners up. In July 2012 Thomas was included in the England A squad along with fellow Sale teammates Rob Miller and

James Gaskell James Gaskell (born 20 May 1990) is a rugby union player for Shokki Shuttles in the Top League. He plays as a flanker or lock. After making the debut for Sale in 2008, Gaskell was named the club's Breakthrough Player of the Year for the 2009/ ...

. In January 2013 Thomas received his first call-up to the senior England squad as an injury replacement for Alex Corbisiero during the 2013 Six Nations but did not feature in the tournament. Thomas was selected for the 2013 Tour of Argentina and on 8 June 2013 made his Test debut as a second-half replacement for Joe Marler. He also came off the bench in the following match as England defeated Argentina to win the series. Thomas played in victories over Scotland, Ireland and Wales during the

2014 Six Nations Championship The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championshi ...

as England completed their first Triple Crown for over a decade. He also featured in the last round away to Italy as England finished runners up. Thomas was included in the squad for their 2014 tour of New Zealand and on 7 June 2014 played in the opening test of the series at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

. This was ultimately his seventh and last appearance for England.

Wales

On 1 May 2023, Warren Gatland selected Thomas in Wales' 54 player training squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

. He qualifies for Wales through his Swansea-born father and is eligible under World Rugby regulations because he played for England more than three years ago. Thomas made his Wales debut on 5 August 2023, coming off the bench in the first test of their

2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches In 2023, some rugby union national teams will play matches in preparation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which act as a stand-in for the usual mid-year international tests. Some of the matches involving Tier 1 and 2 nations are being played under th ...

, in a win against former team England. His two appearances during the world cup both came in pool stage victories against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and Georgia.

References

External links

*
Scarlets profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Henry 1991 births Living people English rugby union players England international rugby union players Bath Rugby players Castres Olympique players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Sale Sharks players Scarlets players Alumni of the University of Manchester People educated at Millfield People from Kingston upon Thames Rugby union players from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Rugby union props Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players 2023 Rugby World Cup players English expatriate rugby union players in France