Paul Wood (rugby league)
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| Full name | Paul Wood | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 October 1981 Wigan, Greater Manchester, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 10 lb (100 kg) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 27 October 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Wood (born 10 October 1981) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop and second-row forward in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League, and Featherstone Rovers and the Swinton Lions in the Championship. At international level, he made a non-Test appearance for Great Britain in 2003, and was capped twice by England in 2005. He is the current head-coach of Swinton Lions in the RFL League 1.
Playing career
[edit]Club career
[edit]Wood was signed by Warrington Wolves from Ince St Williams in 1999.[5] He made his first team debut in September 2000 against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.[6]
Wood played in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[7][8] Wood also played in the 2012 Challenge Cup victory also against Leeds. Wood has continued to feature for Warrington during 2011 but his season ended early due to an injury in the lower back. During his long career at Warrington he has gained a reputation for the hard yards going forward, work rate & offloading.
Wood played in the 2012 Challenge Cup Final victory over Leeds at Wembley Stadium.[9][10][11][12]
Wood played in the 2012 Super League Grand Final defeat against Leeds at Old Trafford[13][10] During the game Wood ruptured his right testicle after getting kneed in the groin, one minute into the second half.[14] Wood continued to play, made a number of tackles and even conducted media interviews in the dressing room after the match without mentioning it. It became public knowledge only when he tweeted a couple of hours later that he was heading for hospital for surgery and he confirmed early on Sunday morning that his right testicle had been removed.[15] Wood played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final defeat against Wigan at Old Trafford.[16][17][18][19][20]
Wood joined Featherstone Rovers in 2015.[21] He retired from playing at the end of the season and was hired as a coach at Leigh Centurions.[22] He briefly came out of retirement in 2018 to play for Swinton Lions.[23]
Representative honours
[edit]In 2003, Wood was selected in the Great Britain squad for the upcoming Ashes series.[24] He made his first and only appearance for the team in a non-Test game against a New Zealand 'A' team. He left the game early due to a shoulder injury, which ruled him out of the Test series against Australia.[25] Wood received another Great Britain call-up for the 2006 Tri-Nations as a replacement for the injured James Graham,[26] but made no appearance during the tournament.
He was capped twice by England in 2005, making his debut in a 22–12 win against France.[27]
Coaching career
[edit]Swinton Lions
[edit]On 27 Oct 2024 it was reported that he had taken the role of head-coach for Swinton Lions in the RFL League 1 for the 2025 season[28]
References
[edit]- ^ "The official Engage Super League web site". web page. Super League. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Player Summary: Paul Wood". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Full blooded derby for Wood". Warrington Worldwide. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Prop forward Paul Wood given Warrington Wolves testimonial". Warrington Guardian. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Scott, Ged (28 August 2010). "Leeds 6–30 Warrington". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Wilson, Andy (28 August 2010). "Chris Hicks hat-trick leads Warrington to Challenge Cup triumph over Leeds". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Warrington's battered Brett Hodgson recovers to see off Leeds in final". Guardian UK. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Leeds' Kevin Sinfield stars in Grand Final triumph against Warrington". Guardian. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Leeds Rhinos 18–35 Warrington Wolves". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Warrington Wolves Are Challenge Cup Winners 2012!". Warrington Wolves Official Site. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Grand Final: Warrington 18-26 Leeds". BBC Sport. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Wood loses testicle in Grand Final". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ "Warrington Wolves: Paul Wood has testicle removed". bbc.co.uk. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final". Super League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013). "Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30". Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double". Guardian. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Fresh challenge sought by Wood offered by Featherstone". Yorkshire Post. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ "Former Warrington forward Paul Wood joins Leigh as a coach". Sky Sports. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ "Paul Wood joins Swinton". Love Rugby League. 28 July 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ "Wood named in GB squad". BBC Sport. 20 October 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "Wood injury mars British success". The Guardian. 30 October 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Laybourn, Ian (23 October 2006). "Wood's fine season earns spot in Tri-Nations squad". The Independent. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Andy (24 October 2005). "France serve notice of intent, but England redress balance". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Aaron Bower (27 October 2024). "Former Warrington Wolves star lands shock League 1 coaching role". Love Rugby League.
External links
[edit]- Leigh Centurions profile
- (archived by web.archive.org) Player Profile Paul Wood player profile
- BBC Article Keeping the faith