Leslie "Les" M. Thomas (birth year unknown) is a Welsh former

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 ...

, 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales XV, and at club level for

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

, 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 is ...

and

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 at club level for

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, wh ...

, as a .

International honours

Les Thomas represented Wales XV (RU) while at Oldham (RL) in the 'Victory International' non- Test match(es) between December 1945 and April 1946, and won

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 for

(RL) while at Oldham in 1947 5-caps, and won a

for

(RL) while at Oldham in 1947 New Zealand. Six rugby league footballers represented Wales XV (RU) while at rugby league clubs, they were;

Tyssul Griffiths Tyssul "Tuss" Griffiths (6 June 1919 – 25 August 1978) was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union for Wales XV, and at club level for Newpor ...

Elwyn Gwyther Elwyn Gwyther (8 March 1921 - 21 March 1996) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales national rugby union team, Wales XV, and ...

Gomer Hughes Gomer Hughes (13 May 1910 – ) was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales and Wales XV, and at club l ...

Hugh Lloyd-Davies Rheinallt Hugh Lloyd-Davies (1925–1986) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales XV, at university for Cambridge University RFC, and ...

, Harold Thomas, and Leslie Thomas. Gomer Hughes, and Harold Thomas had previously won Wales (RU) caps, but the other footballers hadn't, and having already changed to the rugby league code they were unable to do so, but Tyssul Griffiths, Elwyn Gwyther, Leslie Thomas, did go on to win Wales (RL) caps.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Welsh stars still had a rugby ball in wartimePhotograph of Les Thomas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Leslie Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Possibly living people Llanelli RFC players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Place of birth missing Rugby league second-rows Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Year of birth missing