Dick Thomas (rugby union)

Edward John Richard 'Dick' Thomas (14 October 1883 – 7 July 1916) was a Welsh international rugby union back who played club rugby for Mountain Ash.

For the rugby league footballer of the 1900s for Welsh League XIII, see Dick Thomas (rugby league). For other people, see Richard Thomas.

Dick Thomas
Birth nameEdward John Richard Thomas
Date of birth(1883-10-14)14 October 1883
Place of birthWales
Date of death7 July 1916(1916-07-07) (aged 32)
Place of deathMametz, France
SchoolFerndale Board School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Back
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Ferndale RFC
Penygraig RFC
Bridgend RFC
Mountain Ash RFC
Glamorgan Police RFC		 ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1904-1914 Glamorgan County 20 ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1906-1909  Wales[1] 4 (0)
----
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
RankCompany Sergeant Major
Unit16th Bn Welsh Regiment
Battles/warsBattle of the Somme
MemorialsThiepval Memorial

Early life

He was educated at Ferndale Board School, Glamorganshire.[2] He joined the Glamorganshire Constabulary in November 1904, and was posted to Mountain Ash, remaining there until the start of the First World War.[3]

Rugby career

Thomas first played rugby for local Rhondda clubs, Ferndale and Penygraig before moving to Mountain Ash, the team he would captain during the 1904/05 season.[4] He faced his first international opposition when he was chosen to represent Glamorgan, an invitational county team that faced the touring South Africans in 1906. Glamorgan played well but lost 6-3 though if Bert Winfield had completed his kicks the Welsh would have won. Thomas would gain his first cap later that year, when a Welsh team was formed to face the same South African team. Thomas, along with the other newly capped players, John Dyke and John Jenkins were judged not to show great ability, but were far superior to the other non-capped players available.[5] Wales lost the game, which saw the end of many great Welsh players.

From 1906 to 1907, Thomas was incapacitated due to appendicitis, but he returned to first-class rugby after his appendix was removed.[3]

Unlike Dyke and Jenkins, Thomas was reselected for his country again, but he needed to wait until the 1908 Home Nations Championship, when he was chosen to face France at the Cardiff Arms Park. Under the captaincy of Teddy Morgan Wales were victorious, as they were two weeks later when Thomas won his third cap against Ireland in Belfast. Thomas's last game was the following year in a match against Scotland. Billy Trew not only led the team but scored the winning try which Jack Bancroft converted.

International appearances
Opposition Score Result Date Venue Ref(s)
 South Africa0–11Lost1 December 1906Swansea[6]
 France36–4Win2 March 1908Cardiff[7]
 Ireland5–11Win14 March 1908Belfast[8]
 Scotland3–5Win6 February 1909Inverleith[9]

Military service

At the start of the First World War, Thomas was in the Welsh constabulary, and was unable to stand down from his police duties and until 16 January 1915, when he enlisted in the 16th Battalion Welsh Regiment. He was in training with his regiment at Colwyn Bay until August, being rapidly promoted, in the meantime, to Company Sergeant Major by March. The Welsh Division was deployed to the Western Front in December 1915. He was killed in action, shot through the head, in the taking of Mametz Wood on 7 July 1916.[2]

He is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.[10] Another Welsh international died in the same military action, wing player Johnnie Williams.

See also

References
  1. WRU player profile
  2. Sewell 1919, p. 205.
  3. Sewell 1919, p. 206.
  4. "Mountain Ash RFC, Captains board". Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  5. Billot (1974), pg 37.
  6. http://en.espn.co.uk/statsguru/rugby/match/19093.html
  7. http://en.espn.co.uk/statsguru/rugby/match/19110.html
  8. http://en.espn.co.uk/statsguru/rugby/match/19111.html
  9. http://en.espn.co.uk/statsguru/rugby/match/19120.html
  10. Rugby Heroes who went to War BBC Online Matthew Ferris, November 2008

Bibliography
  • Billot, John (1974). Springboks in Wales. Ferndale: Ron Jones Publications.
  • Sewell, Edward Humphrey Dalrymple (1919). The Rugby Football Internationals Roll of Honour. London, Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack.
  • Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
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