Tom Wood interview: Wood eager to surmount England obstacles

The assertion made by Eddie Jones this week that Chris Robshaw is “easily the best six in England” is a welcome dollop of good news for the deposed captain but a further poke in the eye for the blind-side flanker who filled the No 6 shirt throughout Stuart Lancaster’s reign.

Amid the rubble of England’s World Cup campaign, Tom Wood, the Northampton flanker, was being talked about as potential successor to the captain. Now, he is not even in Jones’ first squad – he’s on the outside looking in, hearing the new coach sing the praises of Robshaw.

“Obviously, it’s really difficult and disappointing because every player is a proud player and wants to be in the squad,” Wood tells The Independent. “Having been in it for such a long period of time, it is difficult to be left out.

“You go through a range of emotions, I guess the first one was a little bit of anger and frustration and you feel hard done by maybe, and then you begin to...” Wood pauses. “It’s very difficult, if I’m honest. You have to remember that you’re an England fan before you were ever a player, and for me personally I remind myself that I want to be part of a winning team, a successful England team and not in by default because there’s nobody else.”

Jones has rung the changes in his 33-man squad ahead of the Calcutta Cup opener against Scotland a week tomorrow and suddenly the back-row department is stocked with talent that makes Wood’s path back to red-rose action one littered with obstacles. There’s Robshaw switching flanks, James Haskell potentially doing likewise, the next big thing, 21-year-old Maro Itoje, in the equation and the Sale Sharks No 8 Sam Beaumont not so much tearing up trees as starting his own deforestation project.

Time, however, is on Wood’s side. At 29, he’s the same age as Robshaw and a year younger than Haskell. But it’s the emergence of the young Saracen, Itoje, who will probably challenge the two established back-rows during this Six Nations, that could prove the biggest threat to Wood. Itoje was exceptional in the Premiership last season, and joined Wood in the England squad for the pre-World Cup training camp before being cut by Lancaster.

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Wood believes Itoje is the “real deal” and, having seen his own name thrown into the captaincy mix in previous years, he suggests the uncapped forward has already displayed the characteristics and skills needed of a future England captain. High praise from someone who says he remains as competitive as ever to keep Itoje – or whoever else is in contention – out of the starting XV by forcing his way back into Jones’ plans.

“I look forward to competition and I don’t hold any grudges against any person,” Wood says. “Myself and Haskell are good mates, I enjoyed working with Maro Itoje in the early days of the World Cup warm-up and pre-season, so I just enjoy that level of competition.”

Wood adds of Itoje: “He’s still a young kid but he’s got absolute bags of potential. Without doing myself a disservice I think he is the real deal. I think there will come a time when he will captain the side, he’s an articulate, intelligent, clever bloke, but he’s got raw athletic power and speed as well. He’s still got some filling out to do, he’s very strong already, but he’ll only get better in the next few years, so I think he’s got very good potential for the future and will be a big asset to English rugby in the coming years.”

Despite having 42 caps to his name, Wood acknowledges that neither he nor anyone else has a free pass into the England squad. When Jones revealed the names of his 33 men two weeks ago he also said that he informed “some players” that they hadn’t made the cut. Was Wood one of them?

“He spoke to me about seven o’clock in the morning on the day of the announcement,” Wood says, “so it wasn’t exactly with the squad in mind, it was just to give me a heads-up that I wasn’t going to be in, and the reasons for that. It was just a courtesy call really, which is fine. You know nobody owes me anything, everyone is entitled to be in that squad, I’ve got no given right and I’ve got to earn it.

“I’ve been unfortunate with injuries recently so I’m confident that if I put a run of games together and get some form and fitness then the door is not closed on me and I’ll have another opportunity again in the future.

“That doesn’t mean that I’m not a good player or won’t be involved in the future, that’s just his way of starting afresh I guess. I’ve got to prove myself all over again, and he’s not seen a lot of me. I’ve been injured for the last five or six weeks since he’s been in the country and doing the rounds and watching the games, so I just have to get back out there on the pitch and put a run of good performances together and that’ll prove my worth.”

Given Wood’s admission that he finds it hard to watch England when not playing – be it through injury or selection – he’ll be happy to know that he’ll be required for Saints duty in the hours leading up to England’s match at Murrayfield, when they meet Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop. But he did have one final reminder for Jones, just to give him a nudge ahead of the tournament.

“If there’s an injury or something else in the meantime, then he knows where I am and I want to be playing well and be fit so that I’m the first name, the first guy he calls.”

Tom Wood was speaking on behalf of BMW, proud partners of England Rugby and drivers of the BMW Sweet Chariots at the 2016 RBS 6 Nations