William Lewis Thomas was a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 and rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 footballer of the 1930s and '40s who at club level played rugby union (RU) for Ystradgynlais RFC

Ystradgynlais RFC

Ystradgynlais Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Ystradgynlais, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is also a feeder club for the Ospreys...

, and Neath RFC

Neath RFC

Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...

, playing at scrum half. He captained Ystradgynlais RFC

Ystradgynlais RFC

Ystradgynlais Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Ystradgynlais, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is also a feeder club for the Ospreys...

 in 1937/38, and played for Neath RFC

Neath RFC

Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...

 between the years of 1938 and 1941, and then for a further season in 1946. He was one half the then famous pre-war halfback partnership, alongside Welsh international outside half W.E. Jones.

He played in two final Welsh trials but lost out on selection to Swansea

Swansea RFC

Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...

 Scrum Half Haydn Tanner

Haydn Tanner

Haydn Tanner was a Welsh international rugby union player who also played for the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians....

 on both occasions.

Thomas also played rugby league for his home village of Ystradgynlais in 1949. They played host to St. Helens, Wakefield Trinity

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...

, and Halifax

Halifax RLFC

Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...

.