Rhys Thomas was a member of the Newport under-21 squad when he played for the Cardiff senior side in the spring of 2003. Originally from the Cynon valley, where he was spotted by David Young, Rhys impressed everyone in his four games for the blue and blacks and he was quickly snapped up for the Blues' regional squad. Rhys has also had plenty of representative experience with the Wales under-21 team, featuring in all five matches played in the 2003 under-21 World Cup in England. Rhys made his try scoring debut for the Blues against the Celtic Warriors on December 27 2003. In 2007 he was selected in the 30 man squad for the RWC.