Nick Wood (born 9 January 1983,

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

) is a former

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer, who played in the Aviva Premiership for

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed i ...

. He played as a loosehead prop.

Early life

Wood attended

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...

before joining

through their academy. After Radley, Wood read Modern Languages at Brasenose College, Oxford.

Club career

The loose-head prop was a regular on the bench during the 2003/04 campaign and made a handful of starts during the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

period. After a couple of consistent seasons, Wood is a regular in the first team. He made 20 starts and 6 substitute appearances during the 2006–07 season for Gloucester Rugby and he scored 1 try against Harlequins at Kingsholm. Wood played in the League final that season, losing to the

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

. On 12 January 2010, Wood signed a new contract with

to keep him at the club until at least 2013. On 2 April 2013, it was announced that he had signed a three-year contract extension to keep him at Gloucester until the end of the 2015–16 season. Nick retired at the end of the 2015/6 season, after making 278 appearances for Gloucester (a club record in the professional era). He is currently Master in charge of Rugby at Radley College, Oxfordshire.

International career

His performances for Gloucester Rugby earned him a call-up to the England U21s and he was an ever-present during their successful Six Nations, as well as being a regular during the U21s World Championship. In March 2006, Wood made his debut for the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

, against Ireland A. Wood was called up to the England squad for their tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in May 2007. Wood was in line to start the first test in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

but he had to pull out through illness thus delaying his England debut. He was called into the

side that defeated Ireland A on 1 February 2008. He was ultimately never capped for the senior team. In the summer of 2009, Wood played for England against the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

. In the summer of 2010, Wood was selected for England Saxons to play in the

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...

. On 9 June, he started in the game against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

where, unfortunately, he was replaced in the second half due to injury.

Personal life

He is married to Kate Wood, they wed in July 2010. They have three children together, Oscar born in October 2013, Alice born in June 2016 and Effie born in November 2018. Now a fully qualified referee with the RFU, he has referred and been touch judge in Premiership games.From Premiership Rugby web site.

References

External links

Gloucester Rugby profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Nick 1983 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union players from Swindon Gloucester Rugby players Rugby union props People educated at Radley College Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Oxford University RFC players