Beriah Melbourne Gwynne Thomas (11 June 1896 – 23 June 1966)
Scrum.com was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international

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 ...

player. He played club rugby several teams including Nantymoel, Ogmore Vale,

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, St. Batholomew's Hospital,

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. At international level he represented

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 ...

on six occasions. Melbourne Thomas

Rugby career

"Melbourne" Thomas was a Doctor of Medicine, having studied first at

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

and then at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, he also played rugby for both institutions. During the First World War he enlisted in the Royal Navy, serving as a surgeon sub-lieutenant. After the war came to a close, in an effort to rebuild the sport of rugby, a match was organised between a Wales team and the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

. The game was arranged for 21 April 1919, to be played at St. Helen's in Swansea. Thomas was chosen to represent Wales, earning his first international cap.

International games played

Wales * 1924 * 1921 * 1921, 1923 *

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

1919 * 1921

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Melbourne 1896 births 1966 deaths Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital Barbarian F.C. players Bridgend RFC players Cardiff RFC players People educated at Ysgol Brynteg Royal Navy personnel of World War I Rugby union players from Bridgend County Borough Rugby union wings Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players