Delme - The Autobiography

The autobiography of one of the heroes of Llanelli, Wales and Lions rugby, Delme Thomas. He reached the pinnacle of the game with his club, country and internationally during a 15-year playing career. ~Publisher: Y Lolfa

The cover of this autobiography condenses perfectly the essence of the life and career of its subject. No need for a surname. No need for a clever, catchy title. The book is summarised in three words.



The statistics are simple. During his fifteen-year career, Delme won twenty-two caps for his country and toured three times with the Lions. With his beloved Llanelli he won every honour it was possible to win. In this case, statistics don’t lie. But they only begin to tell the story of this giant of Welsh rugby.



The story opens at the close of Delme’s career. And this transposition works. At best he was a reluctant celebrity. But retiring in 1974 after fifteen years of rugby fame, he finds himself totally lost. He was unprepared for the immediacy of the emptiness in his life. He rightly bemoans the fact that, back in those amateur days, no-one thought that any preparation for such a gut-wrenching event was needed. After all, retiring rugby stars had their day jobs to sustain them. What no one realised was that rugby for people such as Delme was far more than a weekend hobby. Retirement meant an end to a ten-month, 50-club game season. Then there were the international duties. And so, to Delme, leaving Llanelli was like leaving a family. It was traumatic, affecting his health and his whole personality. Indeed, he later suffered a nervous breakdown.



And so Delme faced a greater enemy than he had ever faced on the rugby field. It must have been an act of courage for this, the most modest of men, to open his heart in such an honest way. He infers that mental suffering is considered a stigma. And his greatest difficulty was to admit to himself that he was suffering.



From the second chapter on we read the story of Delme’s life in chronological order. His boyhood in Bancyfelin, his education at St. Clear’s School, devoid of any sign of rugby posts, and his love for budgies. His rugby career is mapped in detail, including that famous day when he helped write an indelible chapter of rugby history when Llanelli defeated the All Wallabies in 1972.



This is the simple story of a simple, home-loving man, honest, unassuming but forthright. He would be the last man to consider himself a hero. But in the eyes of the common people, a hero he was, and will always remain. ~Lyn Ebenezer @ www.gwales.com