Ben Woods

For the English footballer, see Ben Woods (footballer).

Ben Woods
Birth nameBen Woods
Date of birth (1982-06-09) 9 June 1982 (age 42)
Place of birthBarnsley, Yorkshire
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight107 kg (16 st 12 lb) [1]
SchoolQueen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
UniversityHatfield College, Durham
Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Durham City 2nd XV ()
– Cambridge University R.U.F.C. ()
– The Owls, The Titans RFC ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2003–2008 Newcastle Falcons 64 (30)
2008–2012 Leicester Tigers 70 (25)
Correct as of 13 June 2009
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2006–2012 England Saxons 8 (0)

Benjamin Woods (born 9 June 1982) is a retired rugby union player who played for Newcastle Falcons and Leicester Tigers as an openside flanker.

Woods started his professional career at Newcastle Falcons in 2003 but suffered a badly broken leg at the end of his first season and was sidelined for 18 months. On his return to the game he quickly made his mark on the Falcons first team and earned a call up to play for the England Saxons in the 2006 Churchill Cup.[2]

He was also selected for 2007 Churchill Cup.[3] Woods played in the Saxons side that defeated Ireland A on 1 February 2008 at Welford Road.[4]

Woods left the Falcons and moved to Leicester Tigers in 2008 along with Toby Flood.[5]

Injury to Lewis Moody allowed Woods to make his mark at Leicester and he played in 23 games for them in his first season, culminating in a try scoring appearance in the 2009 Heineken Cup Final.[6] He also started that year's Premiership final as Leicester defeated London Irish. The following year he was a replacement as Leicester retained the Premiership.[7][8]

Woods started in all three games of the 2009 Churchill Cup.[9]

He captained Tigers for the first time in the vital LV= Cup win at Harlequins in 2011/12.

  1. ^ "Aviva Premiership Rugby – Gloucester Rugby". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  2. ^ "England Saxons 7–13 Scotland A". BBC. 3 June 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  3. ^ "England Saxons 51–3 USA". BBC. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Varndell shines in Saxons victory". BBC. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  5. ^ Wildman, Rob (5 May 2008). "Defiant Newcastle dent Leicester's hopes". London: Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Leicester 16–19 Leinster". BBC. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  7. ^ "Leicester 10-9 London Irish". BBC. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Leicester 33-27 Saracens". BBC. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Ireland A 49–22 England Saxons". BBC. 21 June 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2009.