William Llewellyn Thomas (6 May 1872 – 9 January 1943) was a Welsh 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 Newport, international rugby 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 invitational rugby for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

. He was educated at

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 7–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Roya ...

and later while at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

he achieved a sporting

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

.William Llewellyn Thomas player profile
Newport RFC website

Personal history

Thomas was born in

Brecknock Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the count ...

in 1872 and was educated at

before attending Oxford University. While at Oxford he won a two sporting Blues in the 1893 and 1894 Varsity Matches. After leaving university he returned to Wales and became an assistant master at his old school, Christ College.Jenkins (1991), p.156 He was ordained into the church in 1899 and became a curate in Rushall. He later moved to

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (, ; cy, Llandrindod, /ɬanˈdɾindɔd/ "Trinity Parish"), sometimes known colloquially as Llandod, is a town and community in Powys, within the historic boundaries of Radnorshire, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys ...

and in 1910 became captain of the local golf club. In 1912 he moved to Irton and was the village vicar until 1924 when he became the vicar of

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

in Cumbria; a position he held until his death in 1943. Thomas was the cousin of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

international Richard Budworth.

Rugby career

Thomas first played for Newport in the 1893/94 season, and in December 1893 was part of the Newport team that faced the Barbarians. Newport won 19–0 with Thomas and Wallace Watts both scoring two tries for the 'black and ambers'.Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 109. Thomas was later selected for the national side as part of the

1894 Home Nations Championship The 1894 Home Nations Championship was the twelfth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 6 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. Brought in as a replacement for Cardiff's

Norman Biggs Norman Witchell Biggs (3 November 1870 – 27 February 1908) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Selwyn played international rugby for Wales ...

, Thomas was part of a three-quarters with team mate and Wales' captain 'Monkey' Gould, and Cardiff pairing Tom Pearson and

Dai Fitzgerald David "Dai" Fitzgerald (1872 – 30 November 1951) was a Welsh rugby centre who played club rugby under the union code for Cardiff, and later switched to professional rugby league team Batley ( captain). He played international rugby union ...

. Despite a heavy defeat by England a month earlier, the Welsh selectors kept faith with majority of the team, so Thomas and Fitzgerald were the only two new caps. The Scottish attempted a half-hearted trial of the four three-quarter system, which did not prove fruitful; Wales won the game 7–0. Thomas lost his place when Biggs returned for the final game of the tournament, but was back in the team the next season when he was chosen to play in the opening game of the 1895 Championship. The Welsh team contained five new caps, but the England team they faced fielded ten international debuts. Although vastly more inexperienced, the English team were victorious, and in the away game to Scotland Thomas was replaced by Evan Lloyd. Thomas' final game was his third home match, all of which had been played at different Welsh grounds,

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's cen ...

, St. Helen's and now, against Ireland, 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 ...

. Wales were victorious, giving Thomas a final international record of two wins and a loss, but the next season the selectors chose the wing partnership of

Cliff Bowen Clifford Alfred Bowen (3 January 1875 – 30 April 1929) was a Wales, Welsh international rugby union wing who played for club rugby for Llanelli RFC, Llanelli and international rugby for Wales national rugby union team, Wales. He was also a ke ...

and

Bert Dauncey Frederick Herbert Dauncey (1 December 1871 – 30 October 1955) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Newport and was capped three times for Wales. Dauncey was an all-round sportsman, and also represented Wales ...

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 472. * 1895 *

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 ...

1895 * 1894

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, William Llewellyn 1872 births 1943 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Newport RFC players Oxford University RFC players People educated at Christ College, Brecon People from Bootle, Cumbria Rugby union players from Cumbria Rugby union players from Brecon Rugby union wings Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players