William Henry Thomas (22 March 1866 – 11 October 1921) 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

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

and

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, ...

. He was capped eleven times 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 ...

and captained the team on two occasions. In 1888, Thomas was chosen to tour New Zealand and Australia as part of the first British Isles team. This unofficial tour did not play any international opposition and no caps were awarded. Thomas was born in

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two pa ...

in 1866 to E.B. Thomas of Pembrokeshire. He was educated at

Llandovery College , image = Llandovery College (geograph 5927072).jpg , image_size = , motto = Gwell Dysg Na Golud( here areno riches better than learning) , established = , closed = , type = Independent day and bo ...

before graduating to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

in 1885.

Rugby career

In 1885, while still a schoolboy at Llandovery College,Godwin (1984), pg 10. Thomas was selected for the final Welsh game of the Home Nations Championship. Captained by Newport's Charlie Newman, Wales engineered a draw through unsporting tactics, mainly by killing the ball whenever possible by lying on it. Thomas was reselected for both Welsh games of the 1886 Home Nations Championship, still representing Llandovery for the opening game against England at Blackheath, but having progressed to the

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

team by the time Wales hosted Scotland a week later. Wales lost both matches, but in the second game at the

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 E ...

against Scotland, Thomas was part of the first Welsh team to trial the four three-quarter system. In 1886 and 1887, Thomas was on the winning Cambridge team in the Varsity match against Oxford, collecting two sporting Blues. Thomas played twice in the 1887 Championship, in the losses to England and Scotland, but missed the win over Ireland when he was replaced by William Towers. Thomas was back for both games of the 1888 Championship, but by now was representing London based exiles,

. The opening game saw the first Welsh win over Scotland, thanks to a debut

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

from Thomas Pryce-Jenkins. This was also the first winning international game Thomas had been part of, though the team could not capitalise on their success when they were beaten by Ireland in the second and final game of the tournament. Thomas missed the next four games for Wales, including the historic match against the New Zealand Natives, but returned for the second game of the 1890 Championship. After having lost to Scotland in the tournament opener, Thomas was back in the pack to face England. Now captained by Wales rugby legend Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, Wales won an historic victory over the English, after some clever line-out play by

William Stadden William James Wood "Buller" Stadden (1861 –30 December 1906) was a Welsh international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Canton, Cardiff and Dewsbury. Stadden won eight caps for Wales over a period of seven years and is mos ...

. This was the first time Wales had beaten England and the result gave Wales a chance of taking the tournament title when they face Ireland two weeks later. The Welsh were unable to take advantage of their England win, when they drew, with a goal apiece, at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

. Wales were heading towards defeat before a late Charlie Thomas try gave Wales an equaliser. More notable was the fight between the two sides at the after-match dinner, in which nine players found themselves in Dublin Court the next day. The press did not release the names of the culprits, so it is not known if Thomas was among them.Godwin (1984), pg 25. Thomas represented Wales twice more, when he was given the captaincy in the final two games of the 1891 Championship. Thomas was now playing for Llanelli, and his final match was to lead his country out in a win over Ireland 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 ...

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 472. * 1886, 1887, 1890 * 1888, 1890, 1891 * 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1891

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Willie 1866 births 1921 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Llanelli RFC players London Welsh RFC players People educated at Llandovery College Rugby union players from Fishguard Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players Rugby union forwards