Tommy Woods (9 February 1883 – 12 April 1955) was an English dual-code international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Somersetshire Somerset ( , ), archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to ...

, and at club level for Bridgwater & Albion RFCbr>
as a Rugby union positions#Forwards, forward, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

, and at club level for

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

, as a forward.

Background

Tommy Woods was born in 1883 in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

, and later played

for Bridgwater & Albion RFC, alongside Robert Dibble and Walter Roman.

Playing career

International honours

Tommy Woods 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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for

(RU) while at Bridgwater & Albion RFC against Scotland at Inverleith on 21 March 1908, and won

s for

(RL) while at Rochdale Hornets in 1911 against Australia, in 1912 against Wales, in 1913 against Wales, and won

s for

while at Rochdale Hornets in 1911 against Australia, and in 1912 against Australia.

County honours

Tommy Woods represented

(RU) while at Bridgwater & Albion RFC.age 69>Robert (Bob) D. Fletcher (1971). ''1871–1971 – A Centenary History of the Rochdale Hornets Football Club Co. Ltd
Page 69
''. Rochdale Times Ltd. 23 Baillie Street, Rochdale. ISBN n/a

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Tommy Woods played as a forward in

' 10–9 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1921–22 Challenge Cup Final during the 1921–22 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

on Saturday 6 May 1922, in front of a crowd of 32,596.

County Cup Final appearances

Tommy Woods played as a forward in Rochdale Hornets' 12–5 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in the

1911–12 Lancashire Cup The 1911 Lancashire Cup was the seventh year of this regional rugby league competition. The winners of the trophy, for the first time, were Rochdale Hornets who beat local rivals Oldham in the final at Wheater's Field, Broughton, Salford, by a ...

Final during the 1911–12 season at

Wheater's Field Wheater's Field was a stadium, rugby ground in Broughton, Salford, Broughton, County Borough of Salford, Salford, England. It was home to the Broughton Rangers rugby league club of the Rugby Football League, Northern Union. On 19 October 1907, ...

Broughton, Salford Broughton is a suburb and district of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Located on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is northwest of Manchester and south of Prestwich. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, the form ...

on Saturday 2 December 1911, in front of a crowd of 20,000.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 17 – 1911–12". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Thomas 1883 births 1955 deaths Bridgwater & Albion RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby union players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Somerset Rugby union forwards Sportspeople from Bridgwater Rugby union players from Bridgwater Somerset County RFU players 20th-century English sportsmen