Sammy Woods - Rugby Career

Rugby Career

When Woods moved to Bridgwater in 1886 after completing his time at Brighton College, he almost immediately began playing for the town's rugby team. He described his first two seasons with the club as being wonderful, especially 1887, in which Bridgwater only lost one match, the last of the season against Exeter. He began his time at the club as a three-quarters back, and was soon called into the Somerset side for their first tour of the north of England. He recounts that during their match against Lancashire, he started at fullback, but after making a number of mistakes, moved to three-quarters. From this position he scored a dropped goal which helped to turn the match around, and thanks to two tries from his team-mates, Somerset won. He selected to play for the South in 1888, and although England did not compete internationally that year due to disputes between the national boards, Woods was disappointed not to be chosen as part of the "imaginary XV". At Cambridge, he gained his Blue, competing in the Varsity Match in each of 1888, 1889 and 1900.

Woods played over 30 times for Somerset, and captained the county between 1893 and 1896. Woods was often a guest of the Hancock family, and appeared a number of times for Wiveliscombe, for whom seven of the ten Hancock brothers also appeared. One of these brothers, Froude Hancock, played for Blackheath, travelling up to London and back each weekend to appear for them. Woods joined him on occasion, and soon became an irregular player, appearing for the side throughout the early 1890s. Around the same time, Woods became one of the founding members of the Barbarians, and served on the club's committee for some time.

His England debut came in 1890, appearing against Wales at Dewsbury. Woods was one of eight England debutants in the match, in which he played as a forward. Wales won the match by a single try. He played in both of England's other two 1890 Home Nations Championship matches, both of which were won by England, who shared the championship with Scotland. He played all three matches again in 1891. He captained England for the first time in 1892, leading his adopted country to a 7–0 victory over Ireland, kicking a conversion. He captained them again in 1893, but took on the captaincy on a more permanent basis in 1895, taking charge of the team for all three Home Nations matches. He scored his only international try in England's opening match of the 1895 competition, during a 14–6 victory over Wales. England won the second match, against Ireland at Lansdowne Road, but lost the final match of the tournament against Scotland – England's only loss with Woods as captain.