Richard Clement Charles "Clem" Thomas (28 January 1929 – 5 September 1996)
/ref> was a international rugby union player. A

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

, he represented Cambridge University R.U.F.C. in the

Varsity Match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murray ...

in 1949 and played for

Brynamman Brynamman ( cy, Brynaman) is a village on the south side of the Black Mountain (''Y Mynydd Du''), part of the Brecon Beacons National Park (''Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog''). The village is split into Upper Brynamman and Lower Brynamman b ...

, Swansea,

London Welsh 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 ...

and Harlequins. He earned 26 caps for Wales, between 1949 and 1959 and captained Wales in his last nine internationals. After retiring as a player he became a rugby union journalist and author of books on the game.

Rugby career

Thomas first came to note as a rugby player while still a school-boy. A boarder at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

in Tiverton he gained four Wales School-boy caps while at the school. He gained his first full senior cap in the match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in the 1949 Five Nations Championship.Obituary of Clem Thomas, The Independent, 6 September 1996
/ref> Thomas was also a member of the last Wales team that defeated the

New Zealand All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

in 1953. In fact, it was Thomas's cross field kick that enabled Ken Jones, the flying Welsh winger, to gather the ball and touch down for the winning try. Thomas toured South Africa with the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

in 1955. He was taken ill shortly after the start of the tour and was operated on for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

, which caused him to miss the first ten tour matches. He spent part of his recuperation on a farm owned by the South African pilot

Sailor Malan Adolph Gysbert Malan, (3 October 1910 – 17 September 1963), better known as Sailor Malan, was a South African fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who led No. 74 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain. He finished ...

and rejoined the tour in time to be selected for the final two test matches against .

Tony O'Reilly Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly (born 7 May 1936) is an Irish former businessman and international rugby union player. He is known for his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009,Dublin, Ireland, ...

, writing after Thomas's death, felt that if Thomas had been available for all four games the Lions might have won the series rather than drawing it 2–2. Thomas captained the Lions team in the game against .

Personal history

Clem Thomas was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

and educated at

and St. John's College, Cambridge. He was married twice, to Ann Barter in 1954 and Joyce Rowley in 1980 and had three sons and one daughter with his first wife. One of his sons, Greg Thomas, was the Head of Media on the

2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa The 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009. The British & Irish Lions played a three-match Test series against South Africa, with matches ...

. Clem Thomas was a butcher by trade but when he retired from playing rugby he took up journalism and worked for

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

for 35 years and then

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

on Sunday for the last two years of his life. He co-authored the book ''Welsh Rugby'' with Geoff Nicholson and wrote ''The History of the British and Irish Lions'' which he completed shortly before his death. Thomas also owned Swansea's No Sign Bar in the 1960s: historian Peter Stead has argued that the popularity of Beaujolais Day in the city can be traced to this period: Thomas also owned a house in Burgundy and could transport the newly released Beaujolais quickly and cheaply to south Wales for sale. Thomas also took part in politics. He stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

in two general elections for the UK parliament and one election for the European Parliament in the 1970s. He died in Swansea in 1996 aged 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Clem 1929 births 1996 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British sportsperson-politicians Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Coventry R.F.C. players Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People educated at Blundell's School Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Cardiff Swansea RFC players The Observer people Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players Welsh sportswriters