Education
Street John"s College.
Street John"s College.
A flanker, he represented Cambridge University R.U.F.C. in the Varsity Match in 1949 and played for Brynamman, Swansea, London Welsh and Harlequins. He earned 26 caps for Wales, between 1949 and 1959 and captained Wales in his last nine internationals. After retiring as a player he became a rugby union journalist and author of books on the game.
Thomas first came to note as a rugby player while still a school-boy.
A boarder at Blundell"s School in Tiverton he gained four Wales School-boy caps while at the school. He gained his first full senior cap in the match against France in the 1949 Five Nations Championship.
In fact, it was Thomas"s cross field kick that enabled Ken Jones, the flying Welsh winger, to gather the ball and touch down for the winning try. Thomas toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 1955.
He was taken ill shortly after the start of the tour and was operated on for appendicitis, which caused him to miss the first ten tour matches.
He spent part of his recuperation on a farm owned by the South African pilot Sailor Malan and rejoined the tour in time to be selected for the final two test matches against South Africa. Thomas captained the Lions team in the game against Natal. Clem Thomas was born in Cardiff and educated at Blundell"s School and Saint John"s College, Cambridge.
Clem Thomas was a butcher by trade but when he retired from playing rugby he took up journalism and worked for The Observer for 35 years and then The Independent on Sunday for the last two years of his life.
He co-authored the book Welsh Rugby with Geoff Nicholson and wrote The History of the British and Irish Lions which he completed shortly before his death. Thomas also took part in politics.
He stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Liberal Party in two general elections for the United Kingdom parliament and one election for the European Parliament in the 1970s. He died in Swansea in 1996 aged 67.
Thomas was also a member of the last Wales team that defeated the New Zealand All Blacks in 1953.