Tom Wood set to make debut for England in Six Nations
England will be throwing Tom Wood in the deep end for his international debut on Friday, eager to shun the gloomy fate suffered by Mathew Tait on the very similar occasion around 6 years ago. England is gifting this debut to the 24 year old Saints flanker
in an injury related affair. Woods would be in number 6 jersey as one of the three replacements to the English side; decided by the manager Martin Johnson, while he recalled James Haskell and Louis Deacon to the squad.
Woods was always compared to Tait, considering his playing style and run; and now he has made his entry in the international squad at RBBS Six Nations opener at Millennium stadium, just like Tait did in 2005. Woods has been a vital performance in his team’s
clean sweep in the pool matches of European the Cup this season. He will be taking place of Lewis Moody, who will be playing after 26th February.
Newcastle’s center came as an outside center on his 19th birthday after giving some tremendous performance at club level. Nonetheless, he was subjected to a brutal initiation by the presence of Gavin Henson, who crashed him on the post before scoring a penalty,
which gifted Wales an 11-9 victory.
Thomas Wood is an English rugby union player, who plays in Aviva Premiership for Northampton Saints as a flanker. He also plays as number eight. Wood started his professional rugby against bath for Worcester Warriors in 2007 Premiership. He joined Northampton
Saints in January 2010. He also made his debut for England Saxons in an intense fixture against Ireland A. The 6ft and 5in number eight is already majority’s favourite, who follow rugby thoroughly and is expected to be a future star for England.
Wood is somehow inexperienced but has the potential and has shown that he can function and fill in for Tom Croft in future. He has been improving since his close season move to the Saints. With such a tall figure and strong body, Woods surely has the advantage.
The only thing holding back England is the thought, whether the new boys have the resources and enough experience to compete with a team like Wales in the most anticipated match. Though Wood is a multi-purpose player and comes in handy in tough situation.
Northampton has used Woods across the back row and as a open and blind side as well.
Director of rugby for Northampton Saints, Jim Mallinder believes that Woods has the cerebral fortitude to keep looking out for any kind of storm coming and will prove to be a useful member at Millennium Stadium. He has the grit to keep his grip in his area.
Mallinder said, “It is going to be lively, but Tom would definitely manage it and cope well. Nothing seems to daunt him. He loves the physical side of the game; he loves the physical side of training.” Talking about his toughness on the field he added, “He
is always up for that and I think that is what he enjoyed when he was with the England squad during the autumn internationals.”
Wood was Man of the Match in his first match for Saints after moving from Worcester in a 27-19 win over Leicester Tigers. Since then he has made runs and shown constant vigilance on the field. His value as an open side flanker been recognized by everyone
and his dexterity as a responsive, agile lineout target has been an attraction for many clubs to sign him.
Even England will be using him in the line out in the absence of Courtney Lawes and Tom Croft. The debutant is an extraordinary pedigree and has already grabbed the attention of the English media. He has taken the same road to the national squad that many
other illustrious players have already been through.
There are few more changes on the bench after the absence of Dave Attwood and Delon Armitage due to suspension. Simon Shaw has cleared the tests and will be playing as a second row, while back rower assistance will be provided by Joe Worsley.
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