John Woods (rugby league)

For other people with the same name, see John Woods.

For the rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s for Great Britain, England, and Barrow, see John Woods (rugby league born circa-1910).

John Woods

John Woods Statue outside Leigh Sports Village (since 2016)
Personal information
Full name	John Woods
Born	(1956-09-14) 14 September 1956 (age 68) Leigh, Greater Manchester, England
Playing information
Position	Fullback, Centre, Stand-off
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1976–85 Leigh 302 135 859 11 2172 1985–87 Bradford Northern 62 21 167 3 421 1987–89 Warrington 72 25 254 5 613 1989–90 Rochdale Hornets 28 16 65 0 194 1990–92 Leigh 47 17 125 2 320 Total 511 214 1470 21 3720 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1977–87 Lancashire 6 5 5 0 25 1977–79 Great Britain U24 5 2 11 0 28 1979–81 England 7 2 8 0 22 1979–87 Great Britain 11 1 13 0 29
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1984–85 Leigh 36 11 2 23 31
Source: [1] [2]

John Woods (born 14 September 1956) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Leigh (two spells), Bradford Northern, Warrington and Rochdale Hornets, as a goal-kicking fullback , centre, or stand-off, and coached at club level for Leigh.

Playing career

County Cup Final appearances

John Woods played stand-off, and scored 2-goals in Leigh's 8–3 victory over Widnes in the 1981 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1981–82 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 26 September 1981, and played stand-off, and scored 2-goals in Warrington's 16–28 defeat by Wigan in the 1987 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1987–88 season at Knowsley Road, St. Helens on Sunday 11 October 1987. ^[3]

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

John Woods played at centre in Leigh's 4–12 defeat by Castleford in the 1976 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1976–77 season at Hilton Park, Leigh on Tuesday 14 December 1976.^{[ citation needed ]}

Career records

John Woods holds Leigh's "Most Career Points" record with 2,492 points,. ^[4] With 3,985-points he is sixth on British rugby league's "most points in a career" record list behind Neil Fox, Jim Sullivan, Kevin Sinfield, Gus Risman and Danny Brough. ^[5]

International honours

John Woods won caps for England while at Leigh in 1979 against Wales (interchange/substitute), and France, in 1980 against Wales (interchange/substitute), and France, in 1981 against France, Wales, and Wales (interchange/substitute), and won caps for Great Britain while at Leigh in 1979 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand, in 1980 against New Zealand, in 1981 against France (2 matches), in 1982 against Australia, and Australia (interchange/substitute), in 1983 against France, and while at Warrington in 1987 against Papua New Guinea.

Testimonial match

John Woods' Testimonial match at Leigh took place in 1984.

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. "Player Summary: John Woods". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
3. "1987–1988 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
4. "Leigh at greyhoundderby.com". greyhoundderby.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
5. "Sinfield close to moving up all-time points list". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.

External links

• (archived by web.archive.org) Lions beat the Blues
• Warrington's World Cup heroes - John Woods
• Photograph "John Woods - John Woods signed for Northern from Leigh in 1985. He scored 421 points in 62 games for the club. - Date: 01/01/1985" at rlhp.co.uk
• Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk