George Thomas

George W. Thomas (1881 – 3 July 1916), also known by the nicknames of "Ponty" and "Stitch", was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played club rugby union (RU) for Pontnewydd RFC and Newport RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, Wales, Other Nationalities and Lancashire, and at club level for Warrington (Heritage № 111), as a forward (prior to the specialist positions of; prop, hooker, second-row, loose forward), during the era of contested scrums. Born in Pontnewydd, Wales, he died at the Somme on 3 July 1916 while serving with the South Lancashire Regiment of the British Army; he was 35 years old.Thomas originally played rugby under the union code in Wales, where he represented Pontnewydd and Newport. He left Newport in 1903 to join Warrington, severing his links with rugby union.