Thomas Lewis (pictured, far left), a 17 year-old rugby player born in Dubai, is turning into an exciting prospect, with an intriguing future.
Thomas attends the Dubai English Speaking College and plays rugby for them at U19 level. He also plays club rugby for Dubai Hurricanes, captaining their U19 squad.
Thomas was introduced to rugby when he was 7 by his Dad and Brother, playing a year above his age group. He first started playing for Dubai Hurricanes and Dubai English Speaking College at U9 level. He’s always seen Sam Warburton (Welsh flanker) and Taulupe “Toby” Faletau (Welsh/Tongan flanker) as his role models.
His rugby club experience has taken him on tours to Spain, South Africa, Wales and Hong Kong where he captained the Dubai Hurricanes U16 team to winning the Hong Kong International 7s Championship. More recently, Thomas has played representative rugby for the U19 Asia Pacific Dragons – the southern hemisphere barbarian team drawing top players from The Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand – in the 2018 World Schools Rugby Festival held in Paarl, South Africa.
Thomas now has his sights set on playing for the UAE U19s. He’s in his final year of A Levels, and after completing them wants to travel back to the UK for University, where he aims to play varsity rugby for his chosen Uni which will he hopes will lead onto professional rugby.
Over the years Thomas’ coaches have been very impressed with his effort and ability on and off the rugby pitch.
His U19 coach Greg Boucher said: “At 2m and 93kg, Tom is a remarkable athlete at 17, with a huge gas tank. Deceptively quick for his size he brings impact in the break down as well as attack, supported by excellent skills and techniques which have developed in the main through the rugby academy and club rugby.”
His dnata Travel Rugby Academy Coach added: “Tom is a physical presence on the field and uses his size to great effect in contact scenarios. He consistently makes gain lines and is an offensive defender. His ability to read the game and think 2,3,4 phases ahead is a strong quality. His skill set has developed hugely throughout his season with the academy where he has been able to harness and develop individual key skills and techniques.”
GYS wishes Thomas best of luck for his future rugby career and looks forward to keeping tabs on his progress.