Hometown hero Thomas living the dream playing for boyhood club

Standing in the terraces of The Rec as a child, Henry Thomas always dreamed of playing for his beloved Bath Rugby and now he is living that dream.

The England international prop returned to Somerset in 2014, with the draw of representing his hometown luring him in.

“It always means more,” said the 28-year-old, who joined teammate Ruaridh Mcconnochie and Ross Batty at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School to promote the Premiership Rugby Champions app.

“I have been a fan since we moved to Bath in 1995 or 96. My dad and I were season ticket holders and I was a mascot in 98.

“All those memories stay with me and even though I wasn’t here for the first part of my career, being part of a club, which is in my hometown gives me that extra bit of inspiration and makes it special.

“The Rec as well, even though it gets stick, it is massively iconic. It has changed a little bit since my childhood and running out under the stand is special. I remember being a kid in the stands and wishing I would be able to do that one day.”

Thomas, Mcconnochie and Batty spent time at the Oldfield Road school playing games of tag rugby with the youngsters, run by Bath Community coach Garin Vivian.

“Our rugby club is at the heart of the community and to be involved in something like this is great,” Thomas added.

Premiership Rugby Champions is an interactive, cross curriculumbased app developed with expert learning technology company, Aspire 2Be. The content aims to inspire primary school children to enjoy learning and get moving while developing important life skills.

Through themed resources, lesson materials and content provided by clubs like Bath, the app connects schoolchildren to their local rugby heroes and brings learning to life in the classroom.

Developed by teachers for teachers, Premiership Rugby Champions provides interactive and themed lesson plans to use in the classroom and outside, tackling health, numeracy and personal development.

Working with the youngsters in and around Bath is important to the players. Batty said: “It is really good to be involved in the community and it is a big part of what we do as a club.

“The rugby club is important to a lot of people here.

“To do a little bit with the kids and make sure they are enjoying it is fantastically rewarding for us. It is great to see the kids tearing around, falling over, jumping back up and having a great time.”

Mcconnochie said: “Bath is a community club and to be able to be bring it closer to the fans is great.

“To see the kids having a great time is rewarding. Bringing them into the club and our rugby community will hopefully give them a lifelong love of the game and Blue, Black and White.”

Since his Olympic experience, the individual landmarks have continued to arrive at regular intervals and Mcconnochie can now place two England caps at the top of his CV.

Such accolades were barely even a pipe-dream for Mcconnochie as recently as five years ago and as such he approaches his development with a refreshing sense of perspective.

“I think back to when I was 23. I was at uni studying, not thinking I had any chance of being involved in a professional rugby environment and just playing because I loved it. I was just a fan back then,” Mcconnochie said

“To be doing what I am able to do now is not something I ever imagined, so I know how lucky I am and am extremely grateful.”

■ Premiership Rugby Champions is an interactive curriculum-based app developed by teachers, for teachers, and aimed at inspiring primary school children to be active whilst developing important life skills.

Using core rugby values and content from Premiership Rugby clubs and players, the app provides teachers with themed lesson plans and valuable teaching resources tackling health, numeracy and character.

For more information on Premiership Rugby Champions, visit www.premiershiprugby.com/community/premiership-rugby-champions/ and download the app.