Iestyn Thomas (born 15 December 1976) is a former Wales international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. In April 2012, he retired from rugby due to injury.

Club career

A prop forward, Thomas started his rugby career with home-town club

Pontypool RFC Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which plays in the Super Rygbi Cymru league. Since the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003, Pontypool RFC is now a feeder club to the Dragons regional ...

, but later moved to the top division with

Ebbw Vale RFC Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales. The club play in the Super Rygbi Cymru and act as a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. History Evidence of rugb ...

. He was

Mike Ruddock Mike Ruddock, OBE (born 5 September 1959) is a Welsh rugby union coach who was later an interim consultant for Ospreys, having previously coached Lansdowne FC. Ruddock was the Director of Rugby at the Worcester Warriors from 2007 to 2010. He ...

's choice as captain as he successfully kept Ebbw Vale in the league and had an impressive campaign in the Parker Pen Cup. In 2002, Thomas joined

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. The club song is " ...

with 11 Welsh caps to his name. He progressed to the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

regional team, for whom he played in more than 200 games over a nine-year career.

International career

Thomas made his international debut for Wales on 11 November 2000 at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

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

against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

; Wales won the match 50–6. He then came off the bench in matches against the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Thomas played in three matches in the

2002 Six Nations The 2002 Six Nations Championship was the third series of rugby union's Six Nations Championship, the 108th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by France, who completed a grand slam. Participants Squads Table ...

, as well as playing two tests against the Springboks in South Africa, and against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at the end of the year. After playing in the

2003 Six Nations Championship The 2003 Six Nations Championship was the fourth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, and the 109th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by England national rugby union team, England, who completed a Gra ...

, and playing in two Tests for Wales in June, Thomas was included in Wales'

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

squad, where he played in three matches.

References

External links

Profile
at scarlets.co.uk
Profile
at wru.co.uk
Profile
at ercrugby.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Iestyn 1976 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players Ebbw Vale RFC players Llanelli RFC players People educated at West Monmouth School Pontypool RFC players Rugby union players from Pontypool Rugby union props Scarlets players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players 2003 Rugby World Cup players