Northampton Saints" Tom Wood determined to captain England in autumn Test ...

“I am ambitious and of course I would love to captain England

again,” said Wood on Wednesday following morning training at Franklin’s

Gardens. Stuart told me at the end of the tour that I had credit in the bank

in terms of captaincy as well as a player. But form and fitness will shape

everything.”

“I am not naive enough to believe that it would be the same as it was in

Argentina. The media circus was not a factor out there as the Lions were

away in Australia. I would be under far more scrutiny, as a player as well

as the front-man for the team.

“You are the face of English rugby. Your body language has to be spot on, you

have to field tough questions and cope with all the stuff that goes with the

job. As long as you are straight with yourself and your team-mates, I don’t

see a problem with that. Captaincy is a way of life, you have to set an

example in everything you do. That is good leadership.”

Wood is friends with Robshaw. The pair are often to be spotted in England camp

heading off to do an extra session together in the gym or on the field for

supplementary passing and catching drills. Technically they are competing

for different positions with Robshaw nominated as an openside and Wood on

the other flank. He was obliged to fill in for England at No 8 for most of

last season’s Six Nations. It did not really work.

“A lot is made of the rivalry between Chris and me for the captaincy but we

are mates, as competitive as each other and assume absolutely nothing,” said

Wood. “Look what happened to poor Tom Croft last week – out for the season

with a knee injury after spending so long recovering last year from a neck

injury. Cruel, so cruel. That’s why you have to just get on with it.

Whatever happens with England will happen.”

Wood, though, acknowledges that there is a frisson in the air as the two-year

countdown mark to the 2015 Rugby World is passed.

England had a three-day training camp last month. There is a gathering sense

that the time has come for teams as well as players, for Wood and

Northampton as much as for the flanker and his country.

“Yes, I would agree, there is a buzz, at the club as well as with England,”

said Wood. “Everything is mapped out with England, every single day between

now and the start of the World Cup on Sept 18, 2015. They showed us a

schedule chart in camp. Every day outlined. That got the juices flowing.

“The management know exactly what they are doing. As a player, it made you

aware of how quickly you have got to make your mark if you want to be part

of it. I am ambitious, I want to play well and I want to be part of that

World Cup.”

Wood, 26, is in much better fettle than he was 12 months ago. He had just

recovered from a freak, frustrating and long-standing injury, in which two

bones splintered in his foot. At one point, as his recovery programme

repeatedly stalled, it looked as if he might never regain the heights

touched in his debut international season of 2011.

But, with careful rehab and a bespoke boot with extra stiffening in the sole,

Wood returned. Yet the upbeat exterior was something of a sham. He was

hurting, as well as not performing to his maximum.

“We play Gloucester on Saturday and I’ve been looking at tapes of our match on

the opening day last season,” Wood. “I’m not pushing properly in the scrums,

turning my foot outwards, trying to protect it. I was kidding myself and

everyone else that I was better than I was. I was sick of being on the

sidelines and needed to get back out there.

“This season is different. It is now out of my mind. I still have to rehab and

to wear the special boot, but I can change direction and get real leg drive

again. I no longer worry about it. That is why I feel for Tom Croft so much.

I know what those dark days are like and I cannot imagine having to go

through it all again.”

Wood is a direct, up-front bloke, an approach weaned from an upbringing in

which he took himself off to New Zealand to further his rugby education. He

has many Kiwi traits, and is married to a girl he met there. He enjoys

country pursuits, stalking as well as archery. Rugby, though, is what

consumes him.

He admits that the memory of losing to Wales in Cardiff fuels many a training

session and that missing out on selection for the Lions “hurt – a lot”.

Wood, though, did not dwell on his misfortune and threw his energies into

leading England to South America.

England won both Tests, and Wood showed that he is captaincy material. Not

only did he play a good game out there but he talked a good one, in two

languages to boot.

Article source: http://ur7s.com/news/3080/ben_ryan_steps_down_as_coach_of_england_rugby_sevens

Northampton Saints" Tom Wood determined to captain England in autumn Test ...