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<\/p>\nDan Thomas has impressed for Cardiff Rugby this season, but lives a colourful life away from the Arms Park<\/p>\n
18:36, 28 Jan 2026Updated 18:37, 28 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
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Cardiff Rugby’s Dan Thomas on the farm in Carmarthen(Image: Instagram\/Dan Thomas)<\/p>\n
Dan Thomas\u2019 matchday numbers shine a light on why he has become such a vital cog for Cardiff<\/a> Rugby this season.<\/p>\n The flanker sits among the URC\u2019s elite for turnovers and tackles, making him a key figure as the Blue and Blacks head to Belfast to face play-off rivals Ulster.<\/p>\n But step away from the pitch and Thomas\u2019 life could hardly be more different.<\/p>\n The Carmarthen-born back rower balances professional rugby with helping out on the family dairy farm, raising a two-year-old daughter, running a wedding car business and, perhaps most unexpectedly, arm wrestling Ukrainian heavyweights in garden sheds.<\/a><\/p>\n The unusual hobby began during the latter stages of Thomas\u2019 seven-year spell with Bristol Bears, when circumstances left him with time to kill in the evenings.<\/p>\n \u201cWith my wife pregnant, she was back in Carmarthen<\/a> and I was still living in Bristol,\u201d the 32-year-old explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI was bored stiff most nights and just scrolling on Facebook<\/a> when an arm wrestling video popped up. I thought, \u2018I\u2019ll give that a go\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n A quick search led him to a local club run by a Ukrainian called Sasha. Training, as it turned out, was far from glamorous.<\/p>\n \u201cI turned up and it was literally his garden shed,\u201d Thomas laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were four or five Ukrainian lads in there and me. Sasha was only about 5ft 5in, but his arms were massive and he absolutely played with me. He battered me every time. JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut I loved it. It gave me something different to do and I went back every week.\u201d<\/p>\n That interest has continued since Thomas returned to Wales with Cardiff, where he has now been for two seasons. He is a regular at a Carmarthen club on Monday nights, discovering quickly that raw strength isn\u2019t everything.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s mainly wrist strength and technique,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I wasn\u2019t too bad until I came up against another farmer \u2014 only about 80 kilos \u2014 but he\u2019d been throwing bales of hay all summer. He absolutely hammered me.\u201d<\/p>\n The arm wrestling has even changed his relationship with the gym.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been a massive gym person, but it\u2019s given me a new lease of life. I\u2019m far more switched on with it now.\u201d<\/p>\n Away from sport entirely, Thomas also has a business interest that wouldn\u2019t look out of place in a period drama.<\/p>\n After the passing of his wife\u2019s father, he purchased one of his classic wedding cars, a vintage 1960s-70s model that now does the rounds at wedding fairs and summer ceremonies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt ticks along nicely,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it\u2019s out most weekends in the summer, I\u2019m happy. I\u2019ve driven it once or twice \u2014 suit and tie, but no top hat. I draw the line there.<\/p>\n
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