Gareth Thomas (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Gareth Thomas known as Alfie, is a retired Welsh
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...

 professional rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

er who played rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 for the Crusaders RL in the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...

. He also previously played 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...

 for the Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....

 and as a fullback, wing or centre.

On 26 May 2007, Thomas surpassed Gareth Llewellyn
Gareth Llewellyn
Gareth Llewellyn was born 27 February 1969 in St. David's Hospital Cardiff whilst his father was serving in Cardiff with the Army, is a Welsh rugby union player who gained a record 92 caps for Wales as a lock. His record for Wales caps has since been surpassed by Gareth Thomas, Colin Charvis,...

 as the most-capped
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 Wales rugby union player with his 93rd appearance. During the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...

, Thomas scored a try in what was his final game for Wales, and in the process created sporting history when he become the first Welshman to win 100 international caps in rugby union. His cap record was surpassed by Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones (rugby player)
Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays primarily at fly-half for Wales, the British and Irish Lions and Scarlets....

 in September 2011. Thomas is listed 11th in the world on the international list of leading Rugby union Test try scorers and he is the 2nd highest Wales try scorer behind Shane Williams
Shane Williams
Shane Mark Williams is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays as a wing for the Ospreys and who can also play scrum-half. Williams is the record try scorer for the Wales national team and he is third on the international list of leading Rugby union Test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata...

.

On 6 October 2010 Thomas became a dual code international when he represented the Wales national rugby league team
Wales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...

 against Italy at the Wrexham Racecourse Ground.

According to Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

, Thomas was notable as the world's only current professional male athlete in a team sport who is openly gay, although cricketer Steven Davies
Steven Davies
Steven Michael Davies is an English cricketer, a wicket-keeper-batsman who currently plays for Surrey. A stylish and aggressive left-handed batsman who can open the batting in both first-class and limited-overs cricket...

, volleyball player Michael Dos Santos
Michael Dos Santos
Michael Dos Santos is a Brazilian volleyball player who currently plays for Vôlei Futuro men's team. He became the first player in professional volleyball history to come out as gay.-Coming out:...

 and footballer Anton Hysén
Anton Hysén
Anton Hysén is a Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén...

 have since come out. In December 2009 Thomas was voted top of the Pink List in 2010 of the 101 most influential gay people in the UK and he received Stonewall’s Hero of the Year award in October 2010. Thomas is a supporter of Childline and is co-founder of Distinct Management and PR with his manager Emanuele Palladino. On October 25, 2011 Thomas announced his retirement from professional sports.

Club career

Thomas started his career at Pencoed RFC
Pencoed RFC
Pencoed Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Pencoed. Today, Pencoed RFC plays in the Welsh Rugby Union, Division Two West League and is a feeder club for the Ospreys....

 at youth level before starting his first class career at Bridgend
Bridgend RFC
Bridgend Ravens are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales. They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division...

. He then moved to Pontypridd
Pontypridd RFC
Pontypridd Rugby Football Club, known as Ponty, are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, currently playing in the British and Irish Cup, Principality Premiership, and are the current SWALEC Cup champions....

, but never actually played a game for them before re-signing for Bridgend. He then spent a spell at Cardiff
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

 starting in 1997 before rejoining hometown club Bridgend again in 2001 and captaining them to a Welsh Premier Division
Welsh Premier Division
The Welsh Premier Division is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union for the 1990–91 season.-Competition history:...

 title in 2003, in a campaign where they were unbeaten at home and only lost to runners-up Neath
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...

 and Cardiff
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

 away. He then joined the Celtic Warriors
Celtic Warriors
The Celtic Warriors were a regional rugby union team from Wales, who played in the Celtic League and Heineken Cup between 2003 and 2004.-History:The Warriors were one of the five original regions of the Welsh Regional Rugby Era...

 once the Welsh Rugby Union
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...

 implemented its regional rugby plans for the 2003-04 season. After one season as captain of the Warriors, the region was disbanded by the then-WRU chief David Moffett
David Moffett
David Moffett is an executive businessman who was notably the Group Chief Executive of the Welsh Rugby Union from 2002 until 2005 and Australia's National Rugby League from 1999 until 2001.-Biography:...

 and owner Leighton Samuel, although Thomas had already agreed a deal to join French club Toulouse
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...

 where he was seen as the ideal replacement for soon-to-retire captain Émile N'Tamack
Émile N'Tamack
Émile "Milou" Ntamack is a former rugby union footballer who played professionally for Stade Toulousain and France, winning 46 caps. He made his French debut against Wales during the 1994 Five Nations Championship. Ntamack was part of the Grand Slam winning sides in 1997. In 2003, he stopped his...

. He helped the club to a Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...

 victory in 2005 after a victory over Stade Français at Murrayfield
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...

. On 20 January 2007, Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....

 completed a deal to bring Thomas back to Wales for the 2007-08 season.

International career

Gareth Thomas made his debut for Wales on 27 May 1995 against . He scored a Welsh record-equalling four tries in the match against in Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

 in 1999; one of only seven players to achieve that feat for his country. He held the Wales record for the most international tries with 40 until Shane Williams
Shane Williams
Shane Mark Williams is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays as a wing for the Ospreys and who can also play scrum-half. Williams is the record try scorer for the Wales national team and he is third on the international list of leading Rugby union Test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata...

 surpassed that total in the 2008 Six Nations Championship
2008 Six Nations Championship
The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 114th...

, but still retains the record for most Test appearances for his country, with 100. He surpassed the try record previously held by Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Evans is a former rugby union footballer who played on the wing for Wales. He is regarded as one of the best Welsh wingers of all time, despite playing through a disappointing era of Welsh rugby. A prolific try scorer at International level, Evans is listed 19th in the world on the all-time...

 in 2004 against Italy. He also got a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

 of tries in the Second Test against Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...

 in 2001; 51 appearances after announcing his arrival on the international scene with a hat-trick in the 1995 World Cup
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....

 game against the same opposition. Equally at home at centre, it was from that position he scored the longest interception try ever seen at the Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...

, a 90 metre dash against in 1996.

Thomas was selected for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
In 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...

. Following injury to Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll is an Irish professional rugby union player. He is the current captain of the Ireland Rugby team and captained Leinster Rugby until the start of 2008 season. He also captained the British and Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand...

 in the opening minutes of the first test against , he was made captain for the second and third tests of the series, becoming the ninth Welsh skipper in Lions' history.

In 2005 Thomas was found guilty of assault while playing rugby in France and in 2007 was banned for four weeks for misconduct charges.

Thomas was named as captain for Wales' final match in the 2007 Six Nations
2007 Six Nations Championship
The 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...

 against England after current captain Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones (rugby player)
Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays primarily at fly-half for Wales, the British and Irish Lions and Scarlets....

 was ruled out with a broken wrist. When Thomas took the field, he equalled Llewellyn's Wales record of 92 caps. He broke Llewellyn's record when he led Wales out against Australia at Telstra Stadium
Telstra Stadium
Stadium Australia, currently also known as ANZ Stadium due to naming rights, formerly known as Telstra Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct of Homebush Bay...

 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 on 26 May 2007, a match that Wales lost 29–23 on a Wallabies try after the siren.

His 100th, and last test match was in his team's defeat by Fiji in the 2007 World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...

.

Personal life

Thomas was born in Sarn
Sarn, Bridgend
Sarn is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, about 3 miles north of Bridgend and which lies just east of the confluence of the Ogmore and Llynfi rivers. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig, south of Brynmenyn, and south-east of Tondu. It is around 15 minutes walk from the M4 and the...

 near Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

. In August 2001, he married Jemma, who he met when both were teenagers.http://sports.rightpundits.com/?p=5881http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1237397/When-Gareth-told-gay-man-I-loved-died.html The couple married in St Brides Major
St Brides Major
St. Brides Major is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It has a population of 2,009.The village is the location of St. Bridget's church, the Fox & Hounds and the Farmer's Arms pubs, Pitcot Pool and St. Brides Primary School....

, near Bridgend, and filed for divorce in 2007; it was finalized in 2009.http://sports.rightpundits.com/?p=5881 During the marriage, Jemma suffered three miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...

s.

In December 2009 Thomas announced publicly that he is gay. He told the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

, "I don't want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player, first and foremost I am a man". Thomas' public confirmation of his sexuality made him the first openly gay professional rugby union player. In an interview with the BBC, Thomas talked about how he hoped that his coming out would mean that in the future, young gay rugby players would be able to come out and be accepted as a "talented gay rugby player". Thomas also said, "What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby". Since coming out, Thomas has become a vocal supporter of the British charity ChildLine
ChildLine
ChildLine is a free 24 hour counselling service for children and young people up to 18 in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance...

, a telephone counselling service for children and young people. In an interview, Thomas commented, "I don't know if my life is going to be easier because I'm out, but if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it".

He was an analyst for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...

.

Health scare

Thomas suffered a major health scare after the resignation of Welsh coach Mike Ruddock
Mike Ruddock
Mike Ruddock, OBE is a Welsh rugby union coach, currently coach of the Ireland Under-20 Rugby Union Team and Lansdowne FC . Ruddock was the coach of the Worcester Warriors until his resignation on 28 April 2010 following their relegation from the Guinness Premiership...

 in February 2006. The resignation was blamed on player power from senior players. He had received a blow to his neck during a match then later on while watching a televised recording of an interview he had given regarding his part in the Mike Ruddock affair, he fell ill and was rushed to hospital with a suspected stroke, which was brought on by a ruptured artery in his neck. It was feared that this could lead to his retirement, but he resumed playing at the start of the 2006–07 French rugby season.

Nickname

Gareth Thomas is often referred to by the nickname "Alfie", gained as a result of a supposed resemblance to a character in a sitcom called ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...

. His way of celebrating tries by slapping his head comes from a popular celebration among Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...

 supporters known as "the Ayatollah
The Ayatollah (football celebration)
The Ayatollah is a football celebration used by fans of Welsh football club Cardiff City. Performing the action is always preceded by a chant of "do the Ayatollah".-Action:...

".

Rugby league career

Thomas joined Crusaders in March 2010 on an 18 month deal. He made his Crusaders' (and rugby league) debut against French side Catalans Dragons
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons are a French professional rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. They currently play in the Super League, and are the only team in the competition from outside of the United Kingdom...

 on 19 March 2010. Thomas suffered a head injury during his debut, and as a result had to leave the field after thirty minutes. Crusaders went on to win the game 14–6. Thomas went on to score his first try for the Crusaders against Wakefield Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...

 in a 20-10 away victory on April 11. A groin injury prematurely ended Thomas' first season in rugby league, but his recovery was hoped to be complete in time for the 2010 European Cup
2010 European Cup
The 2010 European Cup, known as the Alitalia European Cup for sponsorship purposes, is a rugby league football tournament. Three of the competing teams participated in the 2009 European Cup, with France also being included in the tournament after competing in the 2009 Four Nations...

, for which Thomas was selected in the Welsh
Wales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...

 preliminary squad.

In a warm-up test before the European Cup, he made a try-scoring international rugby league debut in Wales
Wales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...

 13-6 loss to Italy
Italy national rugby league team
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in international rugby league football. The team dates back from the 1950s after the formation of a domestic competition in the country, and in the 1960s they played Australia, France and a number of English teams.The game disappeared in Italy...

 in October 2010. He scored again in his next international vs Scotland. In the final game of the tournament, Thomas was appointed captain, filling in for the injured Lee Briers
Lee Briers
Lee Briers is a professional rugby league player who currently plays for Warrington Wolves in the Super League. He previously played for St Helens, and at international level he won 23 caps for Wales, many of those as captain...

. He scored a try in that game, helping Wales to a one-point win for both the European Cup Trophy and a spot in the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations
2011 Rugby League Four Nations
The 2011 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the third staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and was played in England and Wales during October and November of 2011...

.

On the 9th of July, Thomas confirmed on Twitter that he had broken his left arm during the 38-10 defeat to Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...

, and expected to be sidelined for two months. After missing the rest of the season and failing to reach 100% fitness before the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations
2011 Rugby League Four Nations
The 2011 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the third staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and was played in England and Wales during October and November of 2011...

 tournament, on 25 October 2011 Thomas announced his immediate retirement.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK