Paul Wood Testimonial

Q & A with Woody – 8th March 2010

Written by admin on March 8, 2010 – 9:58 pm -

An impromptu question and answers with Woody over facebook just to give you a little more information about how the testimonial is going and a little delve into the behind the scenes of Warringtons rise to joint top of Superleage after 5 rounds.

Q: So Woody, testimonial season launched last week with a gala dinner how did it go?

A: Yes everything went really well! I was nervous at first but as the guest started to arrive I slowly relaxed and began to enjoy the night. Guest speakers Barrie McDerromtt and Terry O’Connor were outstanding and to top that off we had local comedian Dom Thomas and he capped off a great night, the room was in laughter the whole time which is a good sign.

Q: Your testimonial game before that aginst Wigan, what did the lads have to say to you before / after the game?

A: All the lads were very supportive and they wished me well, it was an honour to lead Warrington out for the first time in 10 years. Tony Smith was really supportive and he thinks its a massive achievement to serve one club for 10 years and he said I should be very proud which I am. I want to start and end my career at Warrington and hopefully that will be the case.

Q: You have another 10 months or so of your testimonial season so what else can the wolves fans look forward to?

A: Well the next event is 20th March and that is a ladies night but unfortunately that as sold out. There will be another ladies night held at the Halliwell Jones in the summer but we are yet to confirm dates so keep your eyes peeled and buy your tickets early to avoid disappointment. We will be having a fans forum in April and hopefully we can get some special players and coaches to come along and you can pick there brains and ask them what ever you like! with in reason. Golf days will also be coming up once the weather as picked up and we are looking for a coarse at the moment to play at. I will be holding a Testimonial rugby tournament for the kids and that will take place in May, I think is right we have something for the younger fans and this will be a great way to bring the rugby community together. At the moment the events calender is roughly planned out so we know where we are heading but we don’t want to rush anything because we want to make the events special.

Q: Moving onto the current season, there seems to be a different mind set amongst the squad, can you put your finger on what the difference is?

A: I think we are playing with confidence! thats it. I think Tony as developed some of the core skills we need to and that as rubbed off on to the pitch. We are getting the basics right and working hard and when ever you do that you have a good chance of winning games. Winning breeds confidence and with confidence you feel you can beat any team, we just need to keep our feet on the group and keep doing what are doing but get better at it.

Q: we have lost one game by 2 points against Wigan so far this season, what was the mood like in the sheds after the game.

A: It was very down as you would expect but we dusted are selfs off pretty quickly and looked towards to next game. We love playing Wigan because its a local derby and getting beat by them is hard to take but we are over that now and hopefully we can get the 2 points back from them as the season goes on.

A few questions from the fans to finish

Q: how many coaches has woody seen at warrington whilst playin at the wire ? – Phil Rice from Crosfields ARLFC

A: Paul Darbyshire, DVDV, Steve Anderson, David Plange, Paul Cullen, Jimmy Lowes and Tony Smith. I think I owe a lot to Paul Darbyshire and Paul Cullen! without them two I wouldn’t have had the mentality to make it as a rugby league player, they made me in to a man and made me grow up quickly.

Q:  Being a Wigan lad, does he ever wish his testimonial would have been with his home town club? – Amy Newens

A: No not at all, I have loved every minute of my time at Warrington and now a lot of fans think i am a warringtonian…… even some Wigan fans! I love it at Warrington and hopefully I can serve the club for some time yet.

Q: If Paul hadn’t made it as a Rugby League player what would he have done for a living instead – Angela Arnison

A: I was an engineer when I first finished school but I had to pack that in 12 months into the apprenticeship to go full time at Warrington. I think I would of probably left that job anyway and become an electrician because I have always found that interesting and I have done an electricians coarse with Martin Crompton who also played for warrington and I really enjoyed it, so to answer your question probably an electrician.

Q: When Paul finally hangs up his boots, what will he do? – Dawn Lister

A: Oh not sure yet! I have done my electricians coarse and I have also done a plumbing coarse so thats a possibility. I have started coaching the under 16’s at Warrington so who knows maybe a coaching career? I will have to decide when that time comes but hopefully I have a few more years in me yet.

Paul will be doing these interviews quite regularly so keep an eye out on the forums and facebook for more opportunities to put your question to him.

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