Player Profile

Paul Woods was known as one of the roughest, toughest, most notorious rugby players of his generation. Even at a time when there was no shortage of what were known euphemistically as "hard men" in rugby league, he would be many team-mates' and opponents' choice as the hardest. He started playing rugby union for his village club at Oakdale, before moving to Tredegar and then Pontypool. He turned professional in 1976, signing for Widnes, where he played 77 games, scoring 13 tries and kicking 147 goals. It was while at Widnes that he won the first of his 10 Welsh caps and Kel Coslett, the Welsh team coach, admired his qualities so much, he convinced Paul to play under his at his club side, Rochdale Hornets, but this stay was brief as he joined Hull FC in 1979, making history in the all-Humberside Challenge Cup final at Wembley as the first person to concede a seven-point try in the match against Hull KR. Paul kicked the Hull Kingston Rovers winger, Steve Hubbard, after he scored, giving him an extra shot at goal from directly in front of the posts. Rovers won that final but Paul did pick up a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners medal that season as the beat Rovers in the final. In 1981, he had the chance to help create a new club and he signed for Cardiff City Blue Dragons, playing there for three seasons making 85 appearances, scoring 15 tries and kicking four goals. His playing career ended at Runcorn Highfield, after which he moved back to South Wales and eventually coached his old club in Tredegar. He moved to fill a similar role at Margam, until he was incapacitated by leukemia. He died in Abergavenny on November 1, 2007.