Rhys Muir Thomas (born 31 July 1982) is a former

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

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 ...

prop forward.

Career

Club career

Thomas attended King Edward VII School in Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa alongside

Joe van Niekerk Johann "Joe" van Niekerk (born 14 May 1980) is a South African former professional rugby union player who played either as a flanker or number 8. Career overview After starring for the South Africa Schools, under-19, and under-21 sides, a ...

and

Bryan Habana Bryan Gary Habana OIS (born 12 June 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the , the and ...

. Despite being born and raised in South Africa, Thomas began his professional rugby career in his father's birthplace,

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, South Wales, playing for the

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Ever ...

youth team. Thomas progressed through the ranks at

, eventually making his senior debut in 2003. He made six appearances for Newport in the 2002–03 season, and was rewarded with a development contract with the Newport Gwent Dragons regional side. Thomas made a try-scoring debut for the Dragons in October 2003 against the

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

, but divided his 2003–04 season between Newport RFC and the Dragons, making 15 appearances for Newport and 16 for the Dragons. The 2004–05 season saw Thomas establish himself as a regular in the Dragons squad, making 27 appearances and scoring two tries, as the team finished in 4th place in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

. Thomas made a further 30 appearances in 2005–06, but he was unable to prevent the team from slipping to 8th place in the Celtic League, forcing them to have to play a play-off match against

Rugby Parma Crociati Parma Rugby F.C. are an Italian rugby union club. They are based in Parma in Emilia-Romagna. They were founded in 2010 by the merger of Rugby Parma F.C. (''Overmach Parma'') and F.C. Rugby Noceto and disbanded in 2014. Rugby Parma ''Rug ...

to determine qualification for the 2006-07 Heineken Cup. Thomas was involved in the play-off, but could not prevent the 24–15 loss that condemned the Dragons to playing in the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

in 2006–07. The team went all the way to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, before losing 46–29 to eventual champions

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two t ...

. Thomas had missed most of the season due to a back injury but was available for the Challenge Cup semi-final and the final three games of the Celtic League. Thomas was ever-present for the Dragons in the 2007–08 season scored three tries – a personal record for one season – including two in one match against

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

on 3 October 2007, the first time he had scored more than one try in a game for the Dragons. In May 2009 Thomas joined 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 ...

International career

Thomas made appearances at three different levels for Wales, beginning at Under-19 level while still playing for Newport RFC Youth. Following his displays for Newport RFC, Thomas was included in the Wales Under-21 side and played a big part in Wales winning the U-21 six nations in his final year of U21s. He was also selected for the world cup dream team as best tight head, the only Northern Hemisphere player to be selected in that team. In 2006, Thomas made his debut for the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team () represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international agai ...

, coming on as a replacement for Adam Jones in the 57th minute of a match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 17 June 2006. Due to Injury it was to be 14 months before Thomas made another appearance for the national team, again as a substitute, but this time in a 62–5 defeat by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. During the 2007–2008 season he made a further 3 appearances for Wales, starting as a prop in the autumn international against South Africa on 24 November 2007, against Italy in the 6 Nations on 23 February 2008 and against South Africa at the

Loftus Versfeld Stadium Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a rugby stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, owned by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spectators. The stadium is the ...

on 14 June 2008.

Retirement

In April 2012 Thomas retired from rugby following a heart attack during training and subsequent emergency operation.

References

External links

Wales profile
a
wru.co.ukNewport Gwent Dragons profileProfile
a
BlackAndAmbers.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Rhys M. 1982 births Living people Rugby union players from Johannesburg Rugby union props Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Newport RFC players Dragons RFC players Scarlets players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Alumni of King Edward VII School (Johannesburg)