Thomas Patrick David (born 2 April 1948 in Pontypridd) is a Welsh former dual-code 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 it ...

and

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footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative rugby union (RU) 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 the British Lions and rugby league (RL) for

. He was selected for the

1974 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1974, the British & Irish Lions toured South Africa, with matches in South West Africa and Rhodesia. Under the leadership of Willie John McBride, the Lions went through the tour undefeated, winning 21 of their 22 matches and being held to a ...

, and at the time played club rugby 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 Pember ...

. He also played for his home-town club

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pontypridd) are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. They compete in the Indigo Group Premiership, which they won for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015, and ...

, and while at the club was part of the 1976

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winning Wales team. In 1981 he switched codes to rugby league, representing

Cardiff City Blue Dragons Cardiff City Blue Dragons were a rugby league team formed in 1981. Their home ground was Ninian Park, which was also used by Cardiff City F.C.. The club spent three seasons in Cardiff before relocating to Bridgend in 1984 as the Bridgend Blu ...

Rugby career

Thomas David commonly known as Tom or Tommy, was given the nickname "Tom the Bomb", and was noted for his diving,

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-scoring prowess, which would be used to great effect in Pontypridd's 1975/76 season.Smith (1980), p. 429. David was a fitter by trade, but would later become a company director.Jenkins (1991), p. 35. David was a keen rugby player as a youth, and represented his school, Hawthorn Secondary Modern before joining Pontypridd. In 1972 he switched to Llanelli, and was chosen to face

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when the All Blacks played Llanelli as part of their 1972/73 tour. The game saw a historic win for Llanelli, beating New Zealand 9–3. This was the first of two encounters for David against the same touring All Blacks as he also played flanker in the Barbarian side of 1973 who were victorious against

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

. In between the two victories, the Wales national team also faced the New Zealanders, and many critics felt that David's robust style of play and heavy tackling, which he took to the All Blacks with Llanelli, should have been rewarded with his first international cap.Smith (1980), p. 430. David was not selected for the game, and Wales lost the game 19–16. While with Llanelli, David was first selected to represent the Wales national team, in an encounter with

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as part of the 1973 Five Nations Championship. Although Wales lost the game, David was reselected for the very next Wales game against Australia who were touring England and Wales. David was forced to pull out of the Wales team for the opening game of the 1974 Championship, against Scotland, through injury.Smith (1980), p. 444. This allowed Pontypool's

Terry Cobner Terence John Cobner (born 10 January 1946)
Scrum.com is a former

to take the open flanker position. Cobner was so successful in this role, that David was kept out of the position until Cobner himself was forced to stand down three years later. In 1974, David was selected for the British Lions team to tour South Africa. David played in nine games, but was not selected for any of the Test games against the South African national team. On the tour David scored five tries against the regional teams, including two in the opening game against

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. In 1976, despite being a popular figure at

Stradey Park Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination o ...

, David rejoined Pontypridd. With Pontypridd, David won the Welsh Club Championship in the 1975/76 season, and regained his international place with Wales. His third cap was an encounter away to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

during the 1976 Five Nations Championship. Wales had already won the first two matches of the tournament over England and Scotland, and Wales then beat Ireland after a rapid turn around of fortunes thanks to the attacking flair of

Phil Bennett Philip Bennett (24 October 1948 – 12 June 2022) was a Welsh rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. He began his career in 1966, and a year later he had taken ...

. David was then selected for the final Wales' game of the Championship, the title decider at home to France. When Wales won the game 19–13, they not only took the Championship but also the Grand Slam. Although he was now a Grand Slam winning player, David never represented Wales under the union code again. David continued to represent Pontypridd, and in the 1979/80 season he was given the captaincy of the senior team. While at Pontypridd he saw the club win three Welsh Club Championships, in 1976, 1978 and 1979. In 1981 David left Ponty, turning to the professional rugby league code. He joined Cardiff RLFC in August 1981 and on 8 November of that year he represented the

Wales national rugby league team The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an indepen ...

in a match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 ...

.Gate (1986), p. 152. He played one final international in 1982, this time a home match to the Australian team.

International matches played

Wales (rugby union) * 1973 * 1973, 1976 * 1976 Wales (rugby league) * 1981 * 1982

International Rugby League honours

David won

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s for

while at Cardiff City (Bridgend) Blue Dragons in 1981 against England and in 1982 against Australia. Before the start of the 1984/85 season, Cardiff City Blue Dragons relocated from

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

, to Coychurch Road Ground in

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 medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, and were renamed Bridgend Blue Dragons.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:David, Tom 1948 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff City Blue Dragons players Dual-code rugby internationals Llanelli RFC players Pontypridd RFC players Rugby league players from Pontypridd Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Pontypridd Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players