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| Woods Relishing Warriors Tussle |
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| Ben Woods starts at openside flanker |
| 4 January 2008, 10:54 am |
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| Falcons flanker Ben Woods believes he can put a tough few weeks behind him, as his Newcastle side prepares for Sunday’s Guinness Premiership visit of Worcester Warriors to Kingston Park (kick-off 3pm). |
The 25-year-old makes his 49th start for the club, but revealed in the build-up: “It hasn’t been the easiest few weeks, to be fair, but hopefully I’m through the worst of it now and just focusing on my rugby.
“There was a family bereavement just before the away game in Connacht. The coaches said they would understand if I didn’t want to play, but I felt it was the right thing to do and then a couple of weeks later I was struck down with this winter vomiting virus.”
Going through the pain barrier in the Falcons’ 22-19 victory last weekend, he said: “I had to travel down to Watford separately from the rest of the team, stay in a different part of the hotel and not mix with the other players in case it spread even more, but fortunately I managed to get just over a half of rugby despite having to dig in pretty much throughout.
“I went out for the start of the game basically just to see how long I could play without being sick. It wasn’t too bad up until half time when we had to go in to a boiling hot changing room, and I could feel the stomach turning a bit at that point. I decided to go out for the second half, but about two minutes in I just knew I was going to throw up and it was a pretty quick exit from the field!
“I was getting visions of the film Any Given Sunday, and I didn’t want to be ‘Steamin Willy Beamin’, being sick on the field in the middle of a live televised game. James Hoyle already has that title from when we played in L’Aquila a few years ago, and he had a similar bug. On that day I think he lasted about two minutes before being sick all over the pitch!”
Forced to be a nervous spectator, however, Woods revealed: “Watching from the sidelines though was much worse than being out there, purely because of the tension, and then when you chuck in a couple of video ref decsisions it was almost unbearable to be sat there looking on.
“I must have made a miraculous recovery at the end though, because as soon as the final whistle went I sprinted right across the pitch to where the lads were celebrating – I think I probably just wanted to get on TV!”
With a morale-boosting victory on the road against a much-fancied Sarries, he said: “We felt in the first half that we didn’t get the points our territory and possession deserved, so there was a bit of disappointment about that, but to win away at a team like Saracens is always a great result.
“What was good was the character at the end when we lost the lead.
“I think in the past maybe we wouldn’t have been able to hit back and finish that game off, but the way all the boys responded and really went for the score at the end was fantastic.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s challenge against winless Worcester, Woods insisted the league table had no bearing on the Falcons’ preparation, against what is a dangerous Warriors outfit.
“Worcester have a big pack and they will try to dominate the line outs and get a shove on in the maul, so we know what’s coming and it’s just a case of how we deal with it,” he said.
“They have a very physical style of play, and the deciding factor will be how we as a pack front up to them. If we can do that then the hope is that we can impose our own style on the match, but we know that it all starts with the hard work in the forwards to build the platform and deliver quick ball.
“Last weekend we set the tone with the very first kick-off receipt and drive, making the statement that we weren’t going to back down, so it’s just a case of more of the same really.
“Worcester have a good squad and we know they can get results, as they showed last season at places like Saracens, and complacency is our biggest enemy.”
Tickets for Sunday’s game are still available by calling 0871 226 60 60, or from the ground itself. |
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