Born: 4 July, 1965 Test record: 3 Tests (1992) – 0 points
Bay of Plenty product Mark Woods came off the bench in three Tests during New Zealand’s 1992 schedule after building an impression reputation in the Wellington pack.
Cutting his teeth with Ngongotaha Chiefs, Woods debuted for Bay of Plenty in 1986 and represented New Zealand Māori at that year’s Pacific Cup. He transferred to Upper Hutt Tigers in 1989, playing for Wellington against Australia.
Woods played his way into a surprise Test call-up on the back of a strong campaign for Wellington and an excellent Kiwi trial in 1992. The 27-year-old second-rower came off the bench in the one-off thrashing of Papua New Guinea at Mt Smart Stadium and both matches against Great Britain in Palmerston North and Auckland. He featured in another Pacific Cup tournament for New Zealand Māori later in the season.
Despite captaining Wellington to a win over Auckland and Upper Hutt to grand final glory in 1993, Woods was overlooked for the Kiwis’ squad to tour Britain and France – which included eight uncapped forwards.
A mainstay of the Lion Red Cup’s three-year existence, Woods turned out for Taranaki Rockets in 1994, joined Waikato Cougars in 1995 and returned home to play for Bay of Plenty Stags in 1996. He continued to represented New Zealand Māori until 1995.
The engine-room warrior played for Ngongotaha until the age of 40.
