England and Northampton Saints backrow Tom Wood announced his retirement today following a 15-year Premiership career.
The 35-year-old has enjoyed an immensely successful career with both his club and country amassing an impressive 240 appearances for the Saints and 50 caps for his country.
Unfortunately for Wood he has been out of action since February having sustained a shoulder injury against Leicester Tigers.
Having started his career at Worcester Warriors in 2007 followed by a stint in New Zealand with Otago. Wood will certainly be remembered as a Northampton Saints legend having captained the club to a Premiership victory in 2014.
Speaking about his retirement Wood had the following to say, "Obviously, retiring is a difficult and emotional decision for any player," Wood said. "I've not been able to make as much of a contribution on the pitch as I'd have liked this season due to injury, but that's the nature of professional sport.”
"I'm very proud of my playing career with both Saints and England, and I want to thank all of Saints' supporters who have embraced me during my time here. Having worked hard in recent years to set myself up for life after rugby, I'm excited for what the next chapter has in store." He concluded.
In his pomp Wood was an aggressive tackler as well as strong ball carrying option for both club and country.
Certainly not averse to a few controversy’s along the way such as his 6-week suspension for stamping against Stade Francais or for this shot on Josh van der Flier of Leinster.
However as with any hard-nosed back-row suspensions over such a long career were not surprising. One thing that cannot be disputed however is that to survive 15 seasons of top flight professional rugby is a serious innings. Well done Mr Wood on a fantastic career.
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