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| Birth name | Keith Gerard Mallinson Wood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1972-01-27)27 January 1972 (age 53) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Killaloe, County Clare, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 106 kg (16 st 10 lb; 234 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | St Munchin's College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Gordon Wood (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Keith Wood (born 27 January 1972) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as ahooker at international level forIreland, and theBritish & Irish Lions. He also played at club level forGarryowen,Harlequins andMunster. He was nicknamed 'The Raging Potato' because of his bald head, and as 'Uncle Fester' due to his resemblance to the character inThe Addams Family.[1] Wood is considered by many to have been the best hooker in rugby union during his era, winning the inauguralWorld Rugby Player of the Year award, and to be among the best hookers in the history of the game.[2][3][4]
Wood was born inKillaloe, County Clare, and educated atSt Munchin's College, Limerick. His father,Gordon Wood, playedprop 29 times for Ireland.
Wood started his career with Garryowen who he helped toAll Ireland titles in 1992 and 1994 before moving toHarlequins. He returned to play withMunster in the 1999–2000 season and played in theEuropean Rugby Cup final thatMunster lost toNorthampton Saints 9-8 inTwickenham Stadium before returning toHarlequins.
Having returned to Harlequins in 2000 he started the2000–01 Challenge Cup final beatingNarbonne 42–33 in the final helping the club to become the first English club ever to win thetournament.[5]
Wood made his international debut in1994 againstAustralia. He wascapped 58 times for Ireland and five times for the Lions. Never the most accurate player in the set piece his real strength was in leadership and open play where he dominated the world XV's hooker spot.
He played on the 1997 and 2001 Lions tours, and was the inaugural winner of theIRB International Player of the Year award in 2001. He played a part in the Lions' 2-1 series victory over the Springboks in 1997. Wood captained Ireland.
He scored four tries in one game in the1999 World Cup, in the pool stage against the USA. Ireland were later eliminated from the tournament when they lost to Argentina in the quarter-final play-off.
Wood retired from playing after the2003 World Cup. He was succeeded as Ireland captain byBrian O'Driscoll.
IRB player of the Year - 2001
European Challenge Cup - 2001
Wood was inducted into theInternational Rugby Hall of Fame in 2005,[6] and to theIRB Hall of Fame in 2014.[7]
Wood's total of 15 full international test tries was, at his international retirement, the record for a hooker, or indeed any player in the tight five. The previous record for international tries by hookers (or players at any position in the tight five) was 12, set bySean Fitzpatrick of the New Zealand All Blacks. Wood's record has since been beaten for tight-five players by currentUSA front-rowerJoe Taufete'e.[8] Taufete'e to date has scored 22 tries as a hooker and one as a prop.[9]
Wood has appearances on the BBC as a regular pundit and inThe Daily Telegraph as afreelancejournalist.
Wood used to playhurling, and was a member of theClare GAA side that played in the inaugural Nenagh Co-op hurling tournament in 1988. In 2018, Wood opened a café and restaurant on the main street in his native Killaloe with business partner Malcolm Bell, called Wood & Bell.[10]
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Ireland Rugby Union Captain 1997 - 2003 | Succeeded by |
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