Sammie Wood

Samantha Wood is an Australian rugby union and rugby league player and former football (soccer) player.

Sammie Wood
Personal information
Full name Samantha Wood
Date of birth (1991-05-24) 24 May 1991
Place of birth Australia
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Team information
Current team
 Canberra FC Women
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Newcastle Jets 8 (0)
2012–2013 Canberra United 7 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 November 2020

Wood started playing rugby league and football from a young age. During her football career, she represented Newcastle Jets and Canberra United in the Australian W-League and Australia at youth level. Her time at Newcastle Jets was cut short by a boating accident, which caused her to require surgery for a fractured skull. Following her career in football, Wood switched to rugby league and played in the inaugural City vs Country Origin match after signing for Queanbeyan Blues in 2017. One year after, she started a career in rugby union too and played in the inaugural Super W season for the Brumbies.

Early life

Wood was born and raised in the small town of Grenfell in New South Wales by her parents Trevor and Linda Wood.[1][2] Wood first took up sports to escape bullying in school; choosing to play rugby league and, later, association football. Since the age of 10, she has always worn a ribbon in her hair while playing sport; the initial reason for this was so her grandparents could identify her easily on the field.[3]

Football career

Wood started to take up football because her grandfather and mother started to disapprove of her playing rugby league.[3][4] Wood represented the Australia national football team, The Matildas, at under-17 and under-20 levels.[3] With the former, she was part of a team that achieved a silver medal in the Youth Olympic Games.[5] She played for Newcastle Jets for the 2008–2009 season and made eight league appearances, including four as a substitute.[6] Her season ended prematurely due to a boating accident, which resulted in a fractured skull.[7] Her next football club was Western NSW Panthers.[7]

In 2012, she moved to Canberra to study sports coaching and exercise science; she briefly played for Canberra FC, scoring 11 goals in 17 appearances before impressing in trials for Canberra United and signing for them.[8]

Rugby league career

While playing for Queanbeyan Blues, Wood was selected for the inaugural women's City vs Country Origin on 14 May 2017; she represented the Country team.[9][10]

After a break from rugby league, she returned in 2020 to play for Queanbeyan Blues again.[11]

Rugby union career

Wood switched to rugby union in 2018, signing for Super W team Brumbies and also representing University of Canberra in rugby sevens.[1] She scored her first points in the inaugural Super W season, the 2018 season, in a fixture against Melbourne Rebels. She scored a conversion and a penalty in a 37–8 victory for the Brumbies.[12]

Wood usually operates as a full-back in rugby union.[13][14] She earned her first call-up to the Australia women's national rugby union team, The Wallaroos, on 14 April 2019.[15] In November of that year, she was called up to the Australia A team to compete in the Oceania Championship.[16]

Personal life

In January 2009, Wood had a serious accident while being towed on a tube behind a boat on Wyangala Dam. A wave caused her knee to collide with her nose at high speed; she spent six days in hospital as a result and had to have her nose and sinuses reconstructed.[17] The accident fractured her skull and caused her to miss the rest of the season with Newcastle Jets.[7] Outside of her sporting career, Wood is a primary school teacher and works in Canberra.[3]

Honours
with Canberra United
  • Premier League Player of the Year[18]

References
  1. Friend, Sarah (19 September 2018). "Multi-sport star Wood making her rugby mark". Rugby.com.au. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. "Sammie joins Aussie Wallaroos squad". Grenfell Record. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. Roberts, Lachlan (23 March 2019). "Why Brumbies' Sammie Wood wears a yellow ribbon in her hair". The RiotACT. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  4. Anderson, Ross (26 July 2011). "Women's Premier League Interview With Samantha Wood". Football NSW. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  5. "Grenfell and District Sporting Hall of Fame" (PDF). Grenfell.org. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  6. "Aussie Footballers - Wilson to Wys". Ozfootball. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  7. Arrow, Brendan (21 July 2010). "Wood ready to be back on her feet". Western Advocate. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  8. Page, Fleta (26 October 2012). "Back in the game after near-death injury". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  9. "Women's NSW City, Country squads named". NRL.com. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  10. "Women's Country And City Origin". NSWRL.com. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  11. Polkinghorne, David (7 August 2020). "Former Brumby Sammie Wood on fire in rugby league return with the Queanbeyan Blues". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  12. Scanlon, Jill (30 March 2018). "Super W: Brumbies breeze past Rebels". Rugby.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  13. Dutton, Chris (11 July 2018). "Sammie Wood picks rugby as University of Canberra launches series". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  14. Newman, Beth (13 March 2020). "Super W: Scrivener to start for Brumbies against Reds". Rugby.com.au. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  15. Roberts, Lachlan (11 April 2019). "Six Brumbies make Wallaroos squad ahead of four-test 2019". The RiotACT. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  16. McIntyre, Isaac (21 November 2019). "Stewart to start on wing for Australia against Black Ferns in Oceania Championship". Women's Chronicle. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  17. Gaskin, Lee (9 March 2014). "Sammie Wood: Near-death experience just a memory for rugby girl". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  18. Page, Fleta (13 October 2012). "Wells and Wood win top league awards". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
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