After leaving his contact details with the club president, should they be in need of an extra man, Sean Wood was not expecting to receive a call up just seven days later.
Despite his age, he held his own in the 2nd XV’s fixture against Hillhead Jordanhill at Park Farm earlier this month.
Sean said: “I went about three weeks ago and I spoke to the president and said – look you know in the winter you’re going to need a prop when it’s really bad weather and you get call-offs.
“I didn’t expect to get the call quite so soon, it was the week after!
“I expected to get a call on a wet day in January, but I went, bought new boots in Dumfries, walked out on to the pitch and the referee says – is it true you’re 70? I said – How did you know?
“I live outside of Dumfries in the middle of nowhere and my next door neighbour is a farmer and he was playing in the same team and he’d already told them. He had a big smile on his face!
“I’m a loosehead prop so I don’t get around the park as much as I used to do. But I’m still very strong, so in the front row in the scrum I take some shifting.
“My opposite number was a tighthead prop, I think he was about 20-years-old. From north Derbyshire,
Sean moved to Dumfries and Galloway earlier this year and was full of praise for the welcome he received by the Saints.
He said: “The club have been absolutely fantastic, I felt like I was coming home. But most rugby clubs are like that, you just turn up, say hello and the next thing is everybody knows you.”
Sean added: “I’ve been playing prop-forward for nearly 50 years. “I’m hoping for maybe a cameo role on Saturday. I know they’ve got a lot of players for Saturday, so it’s not like they’ll be short. I’ll carry the water bucket!”
