Robert Wood (14 November 1872 – 1 March 1928) was an English

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 it ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1890s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and at club level for

Liversedge Liversedge is a town and former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward ...

, as a half-back, i.e. number 9, or 10 and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and at club level for

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

( Heritage No. 2), as a , or , i.e. number 2 or 5, 6, or 7. Prior to Thursday 29 August 1895, Liversedge, and Wakefield Trinity were both

clubs.

Background

Bob Wood was born in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England, and he died aged 55 in

Knottingley Knottingley is a market town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, inc ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Bob Wood won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

(RU) while at Liversedge in the

1894 Home Nations Championship The 1894 Home Nations Championship was the twelfth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 6 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

against Ireland.

County honours

Bob Wood won

s for

(RL) while at Wakefield Trinity.

Change of Code

When Liversedge converted from the

code to the

code on Thursday 29 August 1895, Bob Wood would have been 22 years of age. However, by this time he had transferred to Wakefield Trinity, and so he could not have been both a rugby union, and rugby league footballer for Liversedge.

Club career

Bob Wood played , i.e. number 2, in

's first ever match in the Northern Union (now the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

), the 0-11 defeat by

Bradford FC Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

during the inaugural 1895–96 season at

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

, Bradford on Saturday 7 September 1895.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Robert 1872 births 1928 deaths England international rugby union players English rugby league players English rugby union players Liversedge RFC players Sportspeople from Knottingley Rugby union players from Yorkshire Rugby league players from West Yorkshire Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Pontefract Rugby league wingers Rugby union halfbacks Rugby union players from Pontefract Wakefield Trinity players Yorkshire rugby league team players