Player Profile

William George Thomas was heritage #8, meaning he played in the first ever full international rugby league match anywhere in the world when he turned out as prop for Wales in our 9-8 win over New Zealand on January 1, 1908 in Aberdare. He also played against England in 1912, kicking a goal in Wales’ 35-5 defeat. His one Great Britain appearance came in their second ever match, an 18-6 defeat to New Zealand at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea. Born in Pontnewydd in 1881, he originally played for his local club before joining Newport in 1901. He turned professional with Warrington in 1902 and played for them for 11 seasons, making 385 appearances, scoring 47 tries, kicking 191 goals and seven drop-goals. Thirty-three of these points were in one game - a 78-6 victory over St. Helens at Wilderspool on Monday 12 April 1909, and this remained the highest points in a match for a Warrington player until Lee Briers scored 40-points in the 84-1 victory over York Wasps in the Challenge Cup at Wilderspool on Sunday 27 February 2000. Signing up for war in 1915, he sadly died on the Somme on July 3, 1916 when he was hit by a German shell. He is now remembered in the Thiepval Memorial in France. In 2011, he became a Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame inductee.