Thomas Roberts (1897 – 28 September 1972) 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 who played club rugby for

Risca Risca ( cy, Rhisga) is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough and the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. Risca has a railway station, opened on the Ebbw Valley Railway in February 2008, after a gap of 46 years. It is spl ...

and Newport. He is the only player to have been directly capped from the Risca club.

Life history

Born in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, in 1897, he made his international debut for

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 ...

as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

forward on 5 February 1921 against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at Swansea, a match which Wales lost by 14 points to 8. Roberts played nine games for Wales between 1921 and 1923, all in the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

. His last game was against Scotland in

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 ...

on 3 February 1923 in a game Wales lost 8–11. He was a collier by occupation before he joined the Newport County Police Force. Roberts died on 28 September 1972 at

Feniton Feniton is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. The village lies about west of Honiton, north of Ottery St Mary, and east of Talaton. The parish of Feniton incorporates the hamlets of Colesworthy, Higher ...

, Devon.

References

1897 births 1972 deaths Newport RFC players Risca RFC players Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Risca Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players {{wales-rugbyunion-bio-stub