Thomas Edgar Rees (22 August 1904 – 10 November 1968) was a Welsh

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 ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) 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 at club level for

Pontyclun RFC Pontyclun Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Pontyclun, Wales. Pontyclun RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union. Early history Although it is believed that rugby had been played in Pontyclun from the early 1880s; a game ...

Crawshays RFC Crawshays Welsh RFC is a Welsh invitational rugby union team. In 1922 Captain Geoffrey Crawshay was invited by the Engineer Commander of Devonport Services, SF Coopper, to bring a team of Welsh rugby union players to play Devonport Services R.F.C ...

, Army XV and

London Welsh RFC 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, ...

, as a fullback, i.e. number 15, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and at club level for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

( Heritage № 261) and

Broughton Rangers Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester t ...

as a , i.e. number 1.

Background

Tommy Rees was born in

Pontyclun Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a village and community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Like the surrounding towns, it has seen a sharp increase in its population in the last ten years as people migrate south from the So ...

, Wales, and he died aged 64 in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

Rugby union career

Rees was born in

in South Wales and as a teenager played rugby for local club team

.David (1987), pg 37. Jack Meggins, a local headmaster from

Talbot Green Talbot Green ( cy, Tonysguboriau "lea of the barns") is a town (and electoral ward) just north of the M4 motorway, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales in the United Kingdom. The town is part of Llantrisant Community Council. Geograp ...

, saw potential in Rees and recommended him in writing to invitational team Crawshays. Crawshays accepted Rees, the first notable team in his career. Rees joined the British Army and became a soldier in the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

, and while serving in the Guards he was selected for the Army XV. In 1926, Rees was playing for Welsh exile team London Welsh, and after an excellent victory against

Cross Keys Cross Keys or Crosskeys may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Crosskeys, Wales ** Crosskeys railway station ** Crosskeys College, a campus of Coleg Gwent * Crosskeys Bridge, a swing bridge in Lincolnshire, England * The Cross Keys (disambiguatio ...

at Blackheath on 6 March, Rees along with teammates Windsor Lewis and

Wick Powell Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

, was selected to face Ireland as part of the

1926 Five Nations Championship The 1926 Five Nations Championship was the twelfth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-nin ...

.Jones (1985), pg 81. The game was played at St. Helen's,

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, with the Welsh team being led by

Rowe Harding W. Rowe Harding (10 September 1901 – 10 February 1991) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea. An intelligent player, Harding played for several teams at club and international level. In 1926 he attended ...

. The Wales team were victorious over Ireland, robbing the Irish of both the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

and

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

. Rees scored his first international points during the game with a single conversion, and at the end of the match, the three London Welsh players were carried from the pitch shoulder-high. The press recorded that Rees had "a great game that caused intense enthusiasm". Rees was reselected for the next Wales international, the final game of the 1926 tournament, away to France. Now captained by

Bobby Delahay William James 'Bobby' Delahay (2 September 1900 – 12 September 1978)
ESPN Scrum.com was a

...

, Wales won the game 7–5. On Christmas Eve 1926, Rees was playing for London Welsh away to Cross Keys. In the first few minutes of the second half, while attempting a tackle, Rees broke his leg.Jones (1985), pg 83. Rees had been a certainty for the 1927 Championship, and after his injury his place was taken by

Ossie Male Ossie Male (31 December 1893 – 23 February 1975)
Scrum.com was a Wales, Welsh international full back who played club rugby fo ...

. The next season, Rees was back in the Wales team, and was chosen to face the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

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 ...

. Wales were well beaten, though Rees scored for Wales with another conversion. The selectors kept faith with Rees, and he played his final union international in the opening game of the 1928 tournament, played at Swansea against England.

International matches played

Wales (rugby union)Smith (1980), pg 471. * 1928 * 1926 * 1926 *

1927

Rugby league career

He played at representative level for

, and at club level for

and

, as a , i.e. number 1. In 1928 while only 23, Rees decide to switch to the professional league code, and 'Went North', joining Oldham RLFC. Rees had an eleven-year career with Oldham setting many club records, including kicking 668 goals and playing 121 consecutive first team games.David (1987), pg 38. In 1939, towards the end of his club career, Rees joined

though the outbreak of the Second World War ended the playing of professional rugby. He continued to be involved in rugby after his retirement, becoming a rugby league referee. In 1947 he became a rugby league referee and later ran the line as a

touch judge A touch judge is an official who monitors the touch-line in a game of rugby union or rugby league and raises a flag if the ball (or player carrying it) goes into touch. Touch judges also stand behind the posts to confirm that a goal has been scored ...

in the final of the

Rugby League Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

. He was a lifelong committee man, and served Oldham until ill-health forced his retirement. Tommy Rees is one of less than twenty-five Welshmen to have scored more than 1000-points in their rugby league career.Robert Gate (1988). "Gone North - Volume 2". R. E. Gate. Tom Rees won a single cap for

while at Oldham in 1929 against Australia.

External links

Tommy Rees international rugby union profile
Scrum.com
Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Tommy 1904 births 1968 deaths Army rugby union players Broughton Rangers players Crawshays RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players London Welsh RFC players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales international rugby union players Welsh Guards soldiers Welsh rugby league administrators Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby league referees Welsh rugby union players