George Thomas (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
George Thomas was a Welsh
international rugby union
wing who played club rugby for Newport and international rugby for Wales
. He was also a professional sprinter and was an All-England Sprint Champion.
at St Helens. The Swansea
crows was hostile towards the Wales team, as they believed that the Swansea team
had been overlooked, and Thomas, along with Cardiff's
Charlie Arthur
received heavy censure. Despite the poor support from the crowd, Thomas had a good match and after William Towers had taken Wales into the lead, Thomas made the score comfortable by running in a try
of his own from the halfway line. Not only strong in attack, Thomas was also commanding in defence, and when New Zealander Harold Lee dribbled the ball over the Wales' tryline, Thomas collected the ball, ran out of the try area with it before kicking the ball into the midfield. The move was described as an 'amazing show of nerve'
. A week later Thomas faced the Māoris again, this time playing for club team, Newport. Led by Theo Harding
, the Newport team was noticeably less physical than the New Zealanders, and the Welsh club lost the game by three tries to nil.
Thomas was not selected for the next Wales international game, and the Welsh selectors went through three different wings in the next four games before reselecting Thomas in the final game of the 1890 Home Nations Championship
. Played against Ireland at Lansdowne Road
, Wales were led by Arthur 'Monkey' Gould in a 3-3 draw. Thomas was replaced for the next game when Percy Lloyd
returned, but was back in the squad just a game later when Wales faced Scotland as part of the 1891 Championship
. Wales suffered an extremely heavy defeat to the Scots, and Thomas was not selected to represent his country again.
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...
wing who played club rugby for Newport and international rugby for 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...
. He was also a professional sprinter and was an All-England Sprint Champion.
Rugby career
Thomas joined first class team Newport in 1884 but did not represent Wales until December 1888 when he was selected to face the touring Māoris1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team
The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand football team that toured Britain, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. The team was composed mainly of players of Māori ancestry, although several Pakeha were included in the squad. The tour was a private endeavour, and was...
at St Helens. The 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...
crows was hostile towards the Wales team, as they believed that the Swansea team
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
had been overlooked, and Thomas, along with Cardiff's
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...
Charlie Arthur
Charlie Arthur
Charles "Charlie" Suckling Arthur was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales...
received heavy censure. Despite the poor support from the crowd, Thomas had a good match and after William Towers had taken Wales into the lead, Thomas made the score comfortable by running in a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
of his own from the halfway line. Not only strong in attack, Thomas was also commanding in defence, and when New Zealander Harold Lee dribbled the ball over the Wales' tryline, Thomas collected the ball, ran out of the try area with it before kicking the ball into the midfield. The move was described as an 'amazing show of nerve'
. A week later Thomas faced the Māoris again, this time playing for club team, Newport. Led by Theo Harding
Theo Harding
Charles Theodore 'Theo' Harding was an English-born international rugby union player who played club rugby for Newport and international rugby for Wales...
, the Newport team was noticeably less physical than the New Zealanders, and the Welsh club lost the game by three tries to nil.
Thomas was not selected for the next Wales international game, and the Welsh selectors went through three different wings in the next four games before reselecting Thomas in the final game of the 1890 Home Nations Championship
1890 Home Nations Championship
The 1890 Home Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 1 February and 15 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...
. Played against Ireland at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
, Wales were led by Arthur 'Monkey' Gould in a 3-3 draw. Thomas was replaced for the next game when Percy Lloyd
Percy Lloyd
David Percy Marmaduke Lloyd was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Llanelli. Lloyd played for Wales on four occasions during the 1890 and 1891 Home Nations Championships.- Rugby career :...
returned, but was back in the squad just a game later when Wales faced Scotland as part of the 1891 Championship
1891 Home Nations Championship
The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March...
. Wales suffered an extremely heavy defeat to the Scots, and Thomas was not selected to represent his country again.
International matches played
Wales- 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...
1890 1888 1891