Gavin Michael Thomas (born 22 October 1977) is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a flanker. He played his club rugby for Tondu, Bridgend, Bath, the Ospreys, the Scarlets and the Newport Gwent Dragons, and was capped 24 times for Wales.
Career
Club career
Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Thomas moved to Wales at a young age and attended Ogmore Comprehensive School in Bridgend. He began his rugby career with Tondu RFC before joining Welsh Premiership side Bridgend Ravens. In 1999, he moved to England to play for Bath; in four years there, he made over 100 appearances before moving back to Wales to join the newly founded Swansea-based regional side, the Ospreys. In February 2004, Thomas was transfer-listed by the Ospreys, and after only a year in Swansea, he moved to their Llanelli-based rivals, the Scarlets, on an initial two-year deal. At the end of the season, having finished fifth in the Celtic League, the Scarlets beat the Newport Gwent Dragons and the Ospreys in the Celtic Cup; however, they lost 27–16 to Munster in the final.
In December 2005, midway through his second season as the Scarlets' starting openside flanker, Thomas signed a contract extension, keeping him with the region for another two or three years. At the end of the season, the Scarlets reached the final of the 2005–06 Powergen Cup; Thomas started the match, but was unable to prevent a 26–10 loss to London Wasps. In 2006–07, Thomas rotated at openside flanker with Simon Easterby and James Bater. The team finished fourth in the Celtic League that season, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup. The Scarlets extended Thomas' contract by another three years in July 2007. Thomas again shared openside duties with Bater in 2007–08, though he was the preferred choice in the Heineken Cup; he started four of the Scarlets' six group stage games, though the team lost all six matches and finished bottom of a group also containing Munster, Clermont and Wasps.
Thomas started each of the Scarlets' first eight matches in 2008–09; however, in an Anglo-Welsh Cup game against Northampton Saints in November 2008, after coming on as a substitute, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. In March 2009, the Scarlets confirmed that Thomas would be released at the end of the season as he had been injured for more than 26 weeks, activating a release clause in his contract. Although he considered retiring from rugby following his release, Thomas was picked up by the Dragons on a one-year contract in July 2009. After playing in 23 matches in his first season with the Dragons, the region extended Thomas' contract for another two years. In 2010–11, the Dragons won three of their four pool matches in the LV Cup to finish top of their pool and qualify for the semi-finals; Thomas missed the first two matches before playing in the second two as a replacement, the first a 28–20 away win over Sale Sharks, followed by a 26–9 home win over the Scarlets. He was then left out of the semi-final against Gloucester, as the Dragons lost 45–17. Thomas remained a regular starter for the Dragons in 2011–12, but made his last appearance for the team in February 2012. He was forced to retire from rugby at the end of the season due to ongoing problems with his knees.
International career
Thomas made his senior international debut for Wales on their 2001 tour of Japan, taking advantage of the senior players being absent on the Lions tour to Australia. He started the test matches on 10 and 17 June, scoring his first two tries for Wales in the second test. He started again in a match against Romania in September 2001, and was named on the bench for Wales' rescheduled 2001 Six Nations Championship match against Ireland a month later. He returned to the starting line-up for the Autumn international match against Argentina, before again making substitute appearances in the matches against Tonga and Australia.