Thomas Woods (30 January 1890 – ?) was a Welsh-born dual-code international

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 ...

and

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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. Woods was the first man to play international 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 international rugby league (RL) for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. In rugby union he played for

Pontypool RFC Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which plays in the WRU Championship (known as the SWALEC Championship for sponsorship purposes). Due to the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003, Pontypo ...

, Devonport Services R.F.C. (and/or Devonport Albion R.F.C.), and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, and in rugby league he played at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, as a , or , during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

Playing career

Wigan

Woods was signed by

club

in July 1921, along with

team mate

Wilfred Hodder Wilfred Hodder (6 May 1896 – 12 November 1957) was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s, and rugby league administrator. He played representative level rugby u ...

. Woods played in

's 13–2 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1921–22 season at

The Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

, Broughton on Saturday 6 May 1922. Woods played in

's 20–2 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the

1922–23 Lancashire Cup The 1922–23 Lancashire Cup was the fifteenth staging of this regional rugby league competition. The trophy was won again by Wigan Warriors, Wigan who beat local rivals Leigh Centurions, Leigh in the final at The Willows, Salford, The Willows, S ...

Final during the 1922–23 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Saturday 25 November 1922.

International honours

Thomas Woods won 5 caps for

(RU) in 1920–1921, and won 4 caps for

(RL) in 1921–1923 while at Wigan.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Thomas 1890 births Devonport Services R.F.C. players England international rugby union players Place of death missing Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players Pontypool RFC players Royal Navy rugby union players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Pontypool Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Pontypool Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Wigan Warriors players Year of death missing