RWC 2015: Tom Wood involved in heated Twitter spat with Chris Robshaw's team-mate Dave Ward over England captaincy
Wood said last week that he would be open to the England captaincy if approached, but has been called out by the Harlequins hooker for going behind Robshaw's back
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Your support makes all the difference.The messy fallout from England’s Rugby World Cup exit took another bizarre twist on Thursday as flanker Tom Wood became embroiled in a Twitter dispute with Harlequins hooker Dave Ward over comments he made regarding the England captaincy.
Wood has been mentioned as a potential replacement should current skipper Chris Robshaw be replaced after leading England to their worst ever Rugby World Cup performance following their disappointing pool stage exit.
The Northampton Saints back-row admitted that should he be offered the chance to succeed Robshaw, he would step up to the task to lead his country.
Wood said: “I’d try and do what’s right for the team. If I was asked to do it for the benefit of the team then I’d consider it very carefully and probably front up. I haven’t been asked. I don’t resent that.
“Whatever you say about [Robshaw] as a player and whoever else you talk about, I’ve always backed Chris because he’s a good honest person who fronts up and gives his best for the team, day in, day out. You can’t ask more than that of an individual.”
Wood’s quotes, which were reported by The Independent at the start of the week, have infuriated Robshaw’s club team-mate Ward, who called out Wood on Twitter and joked at how many penalties he gave away against Wales in a bid to taunt the 28-year-old.
With friends like that who needs enemies
"Reading @tomwood678 article in the Mail, with friends like that who needs enemies? How about the 47 pens you gave against Wales?” Ward posted on Twitter.
Wood responded: "What exactly has upset u? You seem to have acquired a stronger voice since our last chat?"
Ward answered: "Voice has always been strong just know when 2 use it. I can teach u sometime if you want, kicking a man when he's down is never the 1."
Wood was clearly irked by Ward’s public calling out following his interview, and said: "Direct message me ur [sic] number so we can have a chat. Who's been kicked? What article? Ring me and stop talking tough on here."
Rather than meet Wood’s demands, Ward posted a video of him turning over Wood during a match between Quins and Saints, and added the message: "Lesson 1 how to turn the ball over."
Wood ended the conversation by posting: "Ok that's enough. I'm assuming your account has been hacked or you've lost a bet #no bottle."
While Wood said that he has not been approached over any role as captain and admitted that he has always supported Robshaw – who is facing questions over his decision-making and leadership skills after England’s exit – the Daily Mail ran the piece under the headline: “I’ll be captain”. A caption within the article added “Wood makes pitch for job if Robshaw is axed”.
Responding to a Harlequins fan that had questioned whether Wood had been misquoted with the headline, Wood added on Twitter: “Read the quotes not the headline. It's infuriating, time and time again I try to give a considered honest response to a question yet get slapped wiv [sic] a headline and tone of article that fails to come close to reflecting what was said. Don't read it, it's all crap.”
Ward went on to delete his tweets, before adding that he is “old enough to know better”.
Whether the pair have spoken in private is unknown, but the dispute comes a week after England flanker James Haskell was involved in a Twitter row of his own with former England back-row and World Cup winner Neil Back, who believed that the selection of the recently appointed Wasps co-captain for the final pool match against Uruguay did nothing to help the national team when looking towards the future.
After a heated argument, the pair spoke in private and deleted their messages.
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