England debutant follows in Johnson’s footsteps

Flanker Tom Wood, who will make his England debut against Wales on Friday, followed a well-trodden path to improve his game and outlook when he decamped to New Zealand to get a feel for ‘real rugby’.

Feeling a little spoiled in the cloistered world of Worcester’s academy, the teenaged Wood set off to Otago where, just as current England manager Martin Johnson found during his formative trip south in his youth, he learned to grow up very quickly on and off the pitch.

“I wanted to break the mould a little bit from coming through the academy system and progressing into the first team, I wanted to be in the real world and play some rugby so I went out to New Zealand for around eight months,” the 24-year-old said on Wednesday after being named at number six for the opening match of the Six Nations at the Millennium Stadium.

“I played an amateur season there and was selected for the NPC 2, the tier below the top sides.

“I went out there predominately for rugby but enjoyed every aspect of it. I worked full time and managed my rugby around it and tried to keep a professional approach.”

Wood worked as a farm labourer, a builder and then a store manager by day and trained hard at night as he sought to win over his new team mates.

“I was Tom the Pom from the start and the abuse was coming from all angles,” he said. “In some of the academies here it becomes the norm being a professional rugby player, it becomes about prestige, and I wanted to go back to the amateur game.

“There were guys there working all day on farms then running over hot coals to make a Tuesday night training session and I just wanted to get back to that a bit really and get that real desire to play rugby back into my game.”

Johnson spent two of his formative seasons at King Country and has said the experience was hugely influential to his development as one of the toughest locks in the game.

“I had read his book and was aware it was a similar kind of thing — it worked for him and I thought ‘why not?,” Wood said of the man who handed him his first international start.

“I think I came on leaps and bounds. I feel I went out from the academy as a boy and came back ready for first team rugby.”

Wood spent three years with Worcester before moving to Northampton this season and his all-action performances as Saints marched through Europe soon caught the eye.

“We brought Tom into the squad in the autumn and he impressed us with his demeanour on the training field. He showed by what he was doing he wasn’t just there to make the numbers up,” Johnson said.

An injury to Lewis Moody opened the door and he was promoted straight from the Saxons squad to the starting team on Friday.

“It’s been a really inclusive environment and I do feel part of the team but I don’t think you fully earn the respect of the guys around you until you’ve played alongside them so I’m anxious to get out on the field,” said Wood.

“I’ve been told to play my natural game and to be honest I don’t really know any other way than to just get stuck in added the combative flanker who can play on either side and at 6ft 4ins (1,93cm) is a formidable lineout performer.

“The guys made some big strides in the summer and autumn so I think there is that collective belief and confidence and hopefully some of the young guys like me can add to that.”