'I'm so grateful' - Wood loving Force full-time environment

Mon, Apr 15, 2024, 4:00 PM
Ben Somerford

Western Force teenage scrum-half sensation Samantha Wood has revealed how she got into rugby and how much she’s loving being a professional having signed a multi-year contract earlier this year in the latest episode of the Full Force Podcast.

Wood, 19, has been a revelation for the Force this season, starting every game at scrum-half after the ARKS product debuted in the final round of the 2023 Super W season.

The John Wollaston School student grew up on her parents’ 10-acre property in Roleystone in Perth’s hills and had an active childhood but it wasn’t until she attended her brother’s rugby training session that she wanted to play the game.

“My dad played rugby ever since he was young,” Sam told the Full Force Podcast. “Dad got my brother into rugby. I went down and watched my brother’s training and I thought ‘nah, I don’t want to watch, I want to play’.

“So I ended up joining in. We were hugely involved with ARKS. It just never stopped.”

Her parents, Alan and Lucia, held positions as president, secretary and treasurer on the ARKS board until recently.

Sam played rugby with boys until ARKS formed a girls’ Under-14’s team. She went on to play for Kalamunda at Fortescue Women’s Premier Grade level. The teenager’s rise included being the Premier Grade leading point scorer in 2022 with Kala, before her 2023 Super W debut.

She was handed a multi-year contract by Force head coach Dylan Parsons earlier this year, underlining the potential the club saw in her. Now she’s thriving in the Force’s environment which is striving to take the women’s game to a new professional level, helping the side qualify for the Super W semi-finals for the first time.

“It’s so much more professional,” Sam said. “You can see the huge skill shift, from watching last year’s games to this year’s games, the girls have really tightened up the little things.

“That’s probably one of the biggest reasons why we’ve seen success this year. All the basics have been amplified, we’re not just focusing on the big processes. That’s probably the big change in the environment, it’s become so much more professional.

“I just take it day by day. Right now, it’s looking pretty good. I’m so grateful and thankful for the Force giving us this opportunity to come in and train every day and play good rugby. I love it."

Listen to the full episode below:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5kv...01d83cf3be44a3