Edwin Thomas Maynard
Encyclopedia
Edwin Thomas Maynard known as Edwin Thomas or "Beddoe" Thomas was a Welsh
international rugby union
prop who played club rugby for Newport RFC. Thomas was part of the Wales
team that won the Triple Crown
in 1909, and faced all three major Southern Hemisphere teams; New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, for Newport.
encounter with Scotland. This was the second game of the tournament for Wales, having begun the Championship with a draw against England. The selectors brought five new caps into the Welsh team for the Scotland game, and Thomas was one of four new players brought into the pack. Played at St. Helen's in Swansea
, Wales dominated the game with the pack providing the Welsh backs with plenty of possession. After the victory over Scotland, Thomas was reselected for the final game of the campaign away to Ireland. The encounter to Ireland ended in Welsh defeat, blamed mainly on poor referee decisions.
Thomas was not selected for the 1905 Championship, but was part of the Newport team to face the Original All Blacks, on the All Blacks first overseas tour. Newport lost the game narrowly, but Thomas played with great zeal, supporting Newport's star forward, Charlie Pritchard
. Before winning his third cap, Thomas would face another two touring teams for Newport; South Africa in 1906 and Australia in 1908
, both matches resulted in narrow losses to the tourists.
Thomas was eventually reselected for Wales for the 1909 Home Nations Championship
, five years after his last Wales appearance. Thomas again missed the opening game of the tournament, brought in as a replacement for George Hayward
for the Scotland game. After a win over Scotland, Thomas kept his place for the rest of the Championship, which saw victory over France and then Ireland. By beating all the other Home Nations, Wales won the Championship and collected the Triple Crown; and the victory over France, although not officially part of the tournament until the 1909/10 season, also gave Wales a Grand Slam of wins. Thomas played one more international match, the opening encounter with France for the 1910 Five Nations Championship
, which Wales won 49-14. The next match Thomas was replaced by Newport team-mate Harry Jarman
.
After his retirement from rugby, Thomas became a publican, running the Bridgend Inn in Pontnewydd
. The Bridgend Inn was once used as the club headquarters of his old team Pontnewydd RFC, and Thomas retained his close relationship with his former club, and was made a life member in 1949.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
prop who played club rugby for Newport RFC. Thomas was part of the Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
team that won the Triple Crown
Triple Crown (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
in 1909, and faced all three major Southern Hemisphere teams; New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, for Newport.
Rugby career
Thomas began his rugby career with local lower tier club Pontnewydd before moving to Newport in 1899. He was first capped for Wales in the 1904 Home Nations Championship1904 Home Nations Championship
The 1904 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 9 January and 19 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...
encounter with Scotland. This was the second game of the tournament for Wales, having begun the Championship with a draw against England. The selectors brought five new caps into the Welsh team for the Scotland game, and Thomas was one of four new players brought into the pack. Played at St. Helen's in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales dominated the game with the pack providing the Welsh backs with plenty of possession. After the victory over Scotland, Thomas was reselected for the final game of the campaign away to Ireland. The encounter to Ireland ended in Welsh defeat, blamed mainly on poor referee decisions.
Thomas was not selected for the 1905 Championship, but was part of the Newport team to face the Original All Blacks, on the All Blacks first overseas tour. Newport lost the game narrowly, but Thomas played with great zeal, supporting Newport's star forward, Charlie Pritchard
Charlie Pritchard
Captain Charlie Pritchard was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks. He played club rugby for Newport RFC and county rugby for Monmouthshire.-Rugby career:...
. Before winning his third cap, Thomas would face another two touring teams for Newport; South Africa in 1906 and Australia in 1908
1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of Britain
The 1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of the British Isles was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team against invitational and national teams from England and Wales, as well as several games against sides from North America...
, both matches resulted in narrow losses to the tourists.
Thomas was eventually reselected for Wales for the 1909 Home Nations Championship
1909 Home Nations Championship
The 1909 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 16 January and 20 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....
, five years after his last Wales appearance. Thomas again missed the opening game of the tournament, brought in as a replacement for George Hayward
George Hayward
George Hayward was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and was capped for Wales on five occasions and was part of the 1908 Home Nations Championship winning team.-Rugby career:...
for the Scotland game. After a win over Scotland, Thomas kept his place for the rest of the Championship, which saw victory over France and then Ireland. By beating all the other Home Nations, Wales won the Championship and collected the Triple Crown; and the victory over France, although not officially part of the tournament until the 1909/10 season, also gave Wales a Grand Slam of wins. Thomas played one more international match, the opening encounter with France for the 1910 Five Nations Championship
1910 Five Nations Championship
The 1910 Five Nations Championship was the first 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 twenty-eighth series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby...
, which Wales won 49-14. The next match Thomas was replaced by Newport team-mate Harry Jarman
Harry Jarman
Harry Jarman was a Welsh international forward who played club rugby for Newport and Pontypool. He won four caps for Wales and also played for the British Isles in their 1910 tour of South Africa...
.
After his retirement from rugby, Thomas became a publican, running the Bridgend Inn in Pontnewydd
Pontnewydd
Pontnewydd is a suburb of Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen, south-east Wales.Beginning in the late 19th/early 20th century, as a small village in the locality of Llanfrechfa Upper, Pontnewydd has grown rapidly since the start of the Cwmbran New Town development in 1949. Locally, it is...
. The Bridgend Inn was once used as the club headquarters of his old team Pontnewydd RFC, and Thomas retained his close relationship with his former club, and was made a life member in 1949.
International matches played
Wales 1909, 1910- IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
1904, 1909 1904, 1909