Ben Woods: 'I don’t know a player that hasn’t had some struggles afterwards'
It’s been quite the eventful few years for Ben Woods, the ex-Leicester and Newcastle back row, as head of rugby at the Quantum Sport Limited player agency.
The pandemic wasn’t in the script when he transferred from Legion Sports Management in the summer of 2018. Neither was the quick succession collapse of Gallagher Premiership trio Worcester, Wasps, London Irish, and Championship champions Jersey.
There has been gut punch after gut punch, yet rugby hasn’t forgotten its noble, caring-for-others attitude. Woods noticed this last year when involved in raising £32,000 for the Military vs Cancer charity through a UK Armed Forces RFC fixture with a North of England Select XV in Newcastle.
He’s now giving a dig-out for round two, an expanded event featuring men’s and women’s matches at Kingston Park on June 22. “It’s really good for the sport,” he assured RugbyPass.
“There is a lot of talent at that national league level in the northeast and guys want to get involved raising money and helping people. It fits really well together. Last year was a really good first event and it will grow and get bigger.
Military vs Cancer founder David Bathgate has promised a ‘bigger and better’ day of rugby on Saturday June 22 when its Armed Forces event returns to Kingston Park.https://t.co/PRyMkorznG pic.twitter.com/5ErxfcM5a0
— Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) April 8, 2024
“It was a baking hot day at Kingston Park. The game was fantastic, we came out the right side of it but just the feel of the day was brilliant. There was a sizeable crowd and everyone came together for the charity.
“It was a mix of National League players from the northeast, a real showcase of that level below professional. Some really good up-and-coming names; the likes of Max Pepper, who has been at Durham Uni. Zak Poole, who captained Rotherham Titans. Some really good players just beneath that professional level in the area.”
Showcasing this talent is something close to Woods’ heart. Some of his clients have had a torrid time in recent years with clubs closing and pathways blocked. If the only shop window attracted a greater footfall…
“It’s obvious it has been pretty tough. In England, there are four less professional teams than there were and it has been hard for young players who want to break through, hard for players above that because there is less opportunity to be professional. It’s probably a resetting of where everything is in rugby in England.
“Some shoots are coming through that look positive signs, where teams are trying to grow stuff. They are trying to grow social media, trying to grow attendances and attract new fans into the sport. If they can do that it should bode well for the future.
“I’m not a marketing expert; I just know that the product on the field is so good, the skill levels coming through, the coaching, the young players now are unbelievable. Even from 12 years ago when I finished it’s chalk and cheese as a sport.
“The game has moved on so much and I just don’t know whether that is getting across to the general public because the games are exciting, there’s tries, there’s big hits, there’s all the things you want to see that make the sport special, but I don’t know what it is at the minute that maybe isn’t being found or helping it to grow. But it’s definitely there and I can’t see it not happening over the next few years.”
That is a balm to soothe recent sores of having clients left suddenly unemployed. “Guys were going in day to day trying to do their jobs and it all happened slightly differently. The lads at Jersey found out at like six in the morning, they were meant to be flying somewhere so yeah, completely out of the blue.
“They had been told everything was fine and they had the plaster ripped off really early in the morning. It’s difficult. Every player has different stages of their life, different family environments. Some have children, some are on their way up in terms of their career, and some are sort of gearing into their next steps but for all of them, it was difficult because that immediate change came so quickly.
“It was immediate by nature, it wasn’t anything they could plan for. It has been hard all around and for some of them, it meant going into semi-professional rugby. For others, it meant finding another professional club and for others, it has really made it difficult to keep their progression up. They have had to find different ways and different avenues to try and get back to where they were or where they want to get to.”
The liquidations had Woods thinking back to when he was in the early foothills of his playing career. “I remember Celtic Warriors, that’s quite a long time ago now. Whilst I wasn’t an agent at that time I do remember some of my teammates coming to Newcastle who had come from there.
“You didn’t really appreciate at the time, you just sort of play and get on with your own stuff. But when you see the actually reality of it it’s difficult. It’s difficult for the players and their families and everyone associated with them.”
There have been fears that Newcastle could potentially be next to go under. They have lost all 15 Premiership matches this term, got rid of their new coach Alex Codling less than six months in, and were humiliated last Sunday 14-85 at Bristol. Woods insisted their survival is a must for the region.
“It’s been such a difficult season for them. They have cut their cloth accordingly and the most valuable thing is there is still a club in the northeast. If it’s run differently there might not be a club there. That’s my take from the outside. It’s been hard… but it’s not from the lack of trying. They have got a good group and, as a club, everyone in the northeast is behind them and wants them to do well.
“If there wasn’t a professional team in Newcastle then the only Premiership team in the north would be Sale and Doncaster at Championship level. To not have a Premiership, top-flight club from the whole of Yorkshire and the northeast would be a real detriment to players.
“Young players need to be able to see a future and they want to play in their home area and there is a lot of talent comes out of the northeast and Yorkshire for there not to be a club to feed into. It would be a real shame if there wasn’t. There is an appetite for it. Football is the main sport and probably always will be but there is definitely a role for rugby to play in that underneath that and attract fans.”
Adam Radwan, a client of Woods, is the type of locally produced X-factor that stands out. Steve Borthwick’s England haven’t needed him – his numbers are still two caps, four tries in 2021 under Eddie Jones – but a rep-level game-changer could be his potential selection for Great Britain 7s.
They will look to qualify for the Paris Olympics via a Monaco repechage in late June following the HSBC SVNS finale in Madrid in five weeks. “It’s something he is looking into,” confirmed Woods. “Newcastle have okayed it. It’s a matter of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts and making sure everything is in place to allow him to go and push for selection.
Good luck to last years Anglo-Welsh Cup break through player winner @AdamRadwan97 who makes his @premrugby debut this weekend for the @FalconsRugby against @Saracens pic.twitter.com/TTrmYTVWyl
— Quantum Sport (@QuantumLawSport) August 31, 2018
“They have got their group of players that have been there and Adam, if he gets everything in place, has got to go and prove he is worth a place in it. From the outside, he would go there and excel and be a real point of difference, hopefully on a big stage.
“He is a talented player but there are a lot of talented wingers around. Adam does have a point of difference in that he is exceptionally quick if not the quickest; the stats back that up. But with everything, with England and Newcastle and wherever you are playing, it’s selection-based, opinion-based. Everyone has got their opinion on things and he has just got to keep pushing and doing the best that he can.”
Another exciting winger on the Quantum Sport list is Jessica Breach, a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam winner this weekend with John Mitchell’s England. Woods suggested the women’s game is poised to explode with the country set to host the Rugby World Cup next year followed by the first-ever British and Irish Lions tour in 2027.
“Yeah, definitely. You see the announcement of the Lions tour and the funding that is bringing into the game. England at the minute are the standard bearers. At the minute it’s hard to see where the limit would be as there is just so much growth there. So much growth.
“As everyone keeps getting more and more professional that will keep growing and the contests will keep getting better but also in terms of participation, more people will want to watch and there is no reason why Twickenham can’t be full in the next few years.”
Jess Breach let loose on the wing ?#GuinnessW6N @RedRosesRugby pic.twitter.com/6HAH6vtrsI
— Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 23, 2024
We wrapped up by reflecting on Woods’ own playing career and his transition out of it, an adventure cut short at the age of 29 because of a wrist injury. “That scaphoid, they are notoriously bad healers. There are quite a lot of players who retired with them over the years.
“It might just be one of them where the blood supply into it is pretty poor if you break it in the wrong place, it doesn’t get a chance to heal. Yeah, I don’t know is the answer to that [would his injury be a career-ender now given the advances in treatment?]. I would like to think if players have it now they might be able to keep going and it not affect them but I don’t know.”
Retirement was a regret but it was tempered by the fact Woods was fortunate to have had a career in the first place as he shattered his leg playing A-League rugby at Alnwick the night after he debuted for Newcastle in a draw at Leeds in March 2003. “That was all Toby Flood’s fault for not sidestepping,” he explained.
“He got basically dump-tackled onto my leg and it snapped in three places. Whilst I was unlucky at the end of my career, it could all have been over at the age of 21 the day after I made my professional debut. I played A league on the Monday and then that happened and I was injured for 18 months. Luckily it all healed and it allowed me to keep playing and running. It did make me a bit slower after but I could still run – and I can still run now – so I have a lot to be thankful for.
“I finished quite early but lucky in some respects that whilst I did get injuries, I’m relatively okay with things. Sometimes you go on a bit longer, you might have a knee that gives you more grief and I have got friends that have knee replacements and have struggled with other things.”
England Saxons selection was the highest up the rep ladder Woods clambered. When was he at his very best? “My peak off the field was probably 2005-ish. On the field, some years at Newcastle I had good seasons and maybe being in a team higher up the league I would have got more recognition. But having said that, there were some great players around at the time. That England back row with Lewis Moody, (Lawrence) Dallaglio, Richard Hill, they were best in the world so you were up against that.
“My first year at Leicester (2008/09), I was injured at the start and then went on a run towards the end and we got to the Heineken Cup final and won the Premiership and things just fell into place. Other lads got injured, which gave me an opportunity, and I rolled with it and had a good period of form. We were just unfortunate to bump into a young Johnny Sexton who nailed every kick in the final.”
The last word goes to his transition from the game in 2012. How awkward was moving on back then compared to current-day supports? “There is more awareness around it now. There are more people and organisations prepared to help with it but with anything you have got to engage with it.
“It’s probably easier in that there is more awareness but it’s probably harder now than when I was finishing. We just about had Twitter, there was no Instagram. Social media wasn’t as it is now, so that loss of identity at times might be a bit harder for players who have grown up with everyone knowing they were in the team this week, your progression, and everything else.
“Mine wasn’t particularly easy but some of that was my own making. I don’t really know a player that hasn’t had some struggles afterwards. It might be financial, might just be emotional, might be just the loss of the regularity of training, or whatever because it is a big change in your life.
“Generally it doesn’t happen on your own terms, which can be quite difficult, and then trying to find something else to do… As I say, there is more awareness around it and players can be prepared at an earlier stage than we were, which can make it easier but it won’t make it easy as it is going to be difficult at any age.”
- Tickets for the June 24 Military vs Cancer double-header are priced at £10 for adults, and £5 for children, with tickets for military personnel and veterans free of charge. Click here to buy.
Comments on RugbyPass
Incorrect title. He hasn’t said Furlong is one of the best scrummagers. He said he is one of the best props.
1 Go to comments“_It seems like a crazy thing that he was counting them_“ Are you stupid, mate? Anyone with more than half a brain understands that he meant “a lot” or something similar. Do you really think he was counting? “*Goode*: Told you, Jim!“ No, you banana. You said, explicitly, that the Irish players didn’t say what EE said they did. Even though you weren’t there. Even though you didn’t hear a word they said. M0r0n.
107 Go to commentsI am sure that Scott Robertson did do the courtesy of telling Sam Cane that he was not in his All Black plans and NZR would support him if he wished to sign a lucrative pension playing out his career in the cream puff rugby that is Japan’s Top League. I fail to see this as a negative as Israel Dagg is trying to spin it. Razor allowed Cane to leave with dignity rather than being unceremoniously dumped as was Buck Shelford.
4 Go to commentsHey rugbypass can I also get involved with writing rugby articles?
1 Go to commentsHey rugbypass can I also get involved with writing rugby articles?
1 Go to commentsAT THE END OF THE DAY THE TEAM WITH 4 WORLD CUPS WILL ALWAYS GET TO TELL THE OTHER NATION TO SUCK MY BALLS. THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC AND IRREFUTABLE FACT.
107 Go to commentsWish him and his family the best in his retirement from International rugby and into the future.
1 Go to commentsSelf proclaimed expert/pundit Andy Goode and his very personal views on referees…Why recalling them in such an article as if he were an undisputed authority on the subject ? Only because fellow writer ?
1 Go to commentsLate growth spurts are a common problem over here. I’m well over 30, and I just started having a growth spurt too. Could be a world class prop soon.
1 Go to commentsas much as the challenge cup is a bit of a nothing competition, winning it would still mean something. last year it was won by toulon, who are now something like 4th in the top 14? The year before it was won by Lyon a season before they finished 3rd in the league. The year before that the final was contested by Montpellier and Leicester - 12 months before they both became domestic champions. That should give Gloucester fans some hope.
1 Go to commentsgreat article - although I can’t help wonder whether the more relevant debate over coming years will be between Ford and Fin Smith!
10 Go to commentsMaking Scott Barrett captain might be a masterstroke….will calm him down & stop brain fades and also take pressure off Ardie, so he can just play his natural monster game. Lets see how that all pans out🧐
8 Go to commentsI’m surprised Scotland are planning to rest key players this summer - I don’t think any other tier 1 nation will be doing the same?
3 Go to commentsGreat analysis Brett and what a shame that RA haven't spent more on the tight five instead. BTW I see the latest 8-9 Combo has dropped, looking forward to that. It's incredible the amount of damage that Hamish and Eddie's egos did in such a short space of time. From memory Eddie drove the initial drive to poach league stars way back in the 00s, with community rugby paying the price in reduced funding. Australia went from 15% of its income being spent on community rugby in 2002 to 2.4% in 2015, sheer madness and look where they are now. Hamish reminds me of Scrappy Doo. Always mouthing off, spoiling for a fight with bigger dogs who'd eat him alive. Sadly RA didn't have a Scooby Doo to bail him out.
12 Go to comments*_“I love watching bone-shuddering tackles, brutal clear-outs, monster ball carries, and crushingly intense scrummaging. I love it. These things make my heart rate spike. These aren’t the only things I love about rugby, but I feel no need to pretend I don’t love them, or to apologise for loving them just in case someone thinks I shouldn’t.”_* beautifully put Flats🔥
3 Go to comments“Hidden comments” all over the place😂 Turlough’s been a busy little boy ey🤭
107 Go to commentsit’ll all be released in an autobiography a few years from now….. “Razor shafted me” blah blah blah. thinking of making Scott Barrett captain might be a good move. Could calm down his brain fades & make him an even better player for them
4 Go to commentsSadly he played far too many games too young. England and France really do need to look after their younger players better.
1 Go to commentsHaving finally been able to watch the first Chasing the Sun (thanks RugbyPass!) - because I refuse to pay DSTV's extortionate monthly fee in SA - after four years, it was amazing to see Mapimpi's story as well as seeing my personal hero, Rassie, breaking down when telling it. There _is_ hope for the country, but only once we've got rid of the crooked and incompetent ANC (and others) who have set out to destroy it. Viva Rassie, viva Kolisi viva rugby!
1 Go to commentsWhether true or not, all the best to you Sam Cane. A warrior of a player and a loyal servant to the ABs! Go get you some yen and have some fun.
4 Go to comments