Thomas Edgar Rees (22 August 1904 – 10 November 1968) was a Welsh

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 ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

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 ...

, and at club level for Pontyclun RFC,

Crawshays RFC Crawshays Welsh RFC is a Welsh invitational rugby union team. In 1922 Captain Geoffrey Crawshay was invited by the Engineer Commander of Devonport Services, SF Coopper, to bring a team of Welsh rugby union players to play Devonport Services R. ...

, Army XV and

London Welsh RFC London Welsh Rugby Football Club () 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, after gaining promotion from ...

, as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and at club level for

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

and

Broughton Rangers Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester ...

as a .

Background

Tommy Rees was born in

Pontyclun Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a town and Community (Wales), community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Pontyclun translates from the Welsh language as 'bridge

ver Ver or VER may refer to: * Voluntary Export Restraints, in international trade * VER, the IATA airport code for Veracruz International Airport * Volk's Electric Railway, Brighton, England * VerPublishing, of the German group VDM Publishing, re ...

the Afon Clun, River Clun', the Clun being a tributa ...

, Wales, and he died aged 64 in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England.

Rugby union career

Rees was born in

Pontyclun Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a town and Community (Wales), community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Pontyclun translates from the Welsh language as 'bridge

the Afon Clun, River Clun', the Clun being a tributa ...

in South Wales and as a teenager played rugby for local club team Pontyclun RFC.David (1987), pg 37. Jack Meggins, a local headmaster from

Talbot Green Talbot Green ( "lea of the barns") is a town (and electoral ward) just north of the M4 motorway, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales in the United Kingdom. The town is part of Llantrisant Community Council. Geography Talbot Gree ...

, saw potential in Rees and recommended him in writing to invitational team Crawshays. Crawshays accepted Rees, the first notable team in his career. Rees joined the British Army and became a soldier in the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WLSH GDS; ), part of the Guards and Parachute Division, Guards Division, is one of the Foot guards, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the World War I, First ...

, and while serving in the Guards he was selected for the Army XV. In 1926, Rees was playing for Welsh exile team London Welsh, and after an excellent victory against

Cross Keys Cross Keys or Crosskeys may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Crosskeys, Wales ** Crosskeys railway station ** Crosskeys College, a campus of Coleg Gwent * The Cross Keys (disambiguation), several pubs in the United Kingdom * Cross Keys Inn, a ...

at Blackheath on 6 March, Rees along with teammates Windsor Lewis and

Wick Powell William Charles "Wick" Powell (1905–1973) was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for London Welsh and county rugby for Middlesex. Powell was a powerful passer whose speciality was the reverse pass, though he is ...

, was selected to face Ireland as part of the

1926 Five Nations Championship The 1926 Five Nations Championship was the twelfth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-ni ...

.Jones (1985), pg 81. The game was played at St. Helen's,

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, with the Welsh team being led by

Rowe Harding W. Rowe Harding (10 September 1901 – 10 February 1991) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea, a barrister, and a judge. An intelligent player, Harding played for several teams at club and international l ...

. The Wales team were victorious over Ireland, robbing the Irish of both the Triple Crown and

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

. Rees scored his first international points during the game with a single conversion, and at the end of the match, the three London Welsh players were carried from the pitch shoulder-high. The press recorded that Rees had "a great game that caused intense enthusiasm". Rees was reselected for the next Wales international, the final game of the 1926 tournament, away to France. Now captained by Bobby Delahay, Wales won the game 7–5. On Christmas Eve 1926, Rees was playing for London Welsh away to Cross Keys. In the first few minutes of the second half, while attempting a tackle, Rees broke his leg.Jones (1985), pg 83. Rees had been a certainty for the 1927 Championship, and after his injury his place was taken by

Ossie Male Ossie Male (31 December 1893 – 23 February 1975)
Scrum.com was a Welsh international full back who played club rugby for ...

. The next season, Rees was back in the Wales team, and was chosen to face the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

. Wales were well beaten, though Rees scored for Wales with another conversion. The selectors kept faith with Rees, and he played his final union international in the opening game of the 1928 tournament, played at Swansea against England.

International matches played

Wales (rugby union)Smith (1980), pg 471. * 1928 * 1926 * 1926 *

1927

Rugby league career

He played at representative level for

, and at club level for

and

, as a . In 1928 while only 23, Rees decide to switch to the professional league code, and 'Went North', joining Oldham RLFC. Rees had an eleven-year career with Oldham setting many club records, including kicking 668 goals and playing 121 consecutive first team games.David (1987), pg 38. In 1939, towards the end of his club career, Rees joined

though the outbreak of the Second World War ended the playing of professional rugby. He continued to be involved in rugby after his retirement, becoming a rugby league referee. In 1947 he became a rugby league referee and later ran the line as a

touch judge A touch judge is an official who monitors the touch-line in a rugby union or rugby league game and raises a flag if the ball (or player carrying it) goes into touch. Touch judges also stand behind the posts to confirm that a goal has been scored fol ...

in the final of the

Rugby League Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's oldest cup competition in either ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. He was a lifelong committee man, and served Oldham until ill-health forced his retirement. Tommy Rees is one of less than twenty-five Welshmen to have scored more than 1000-points in their rugby league career.Robert Gate (1988). "Gone North - Volume 2". R. E. Gate. Tom Rees won a single cap for

while at Oldham in 1929 against Australia.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Tommy 1904 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Army rugby union players Broughton Rangers players Crawshays RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players London Welsh RFC players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales international rugby union players Welsh Guards soldiers Welsh rugby league administrators Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby league referees Welsh rugby union players