Martyn Wood

Martyn WOOD, a teenage talent from the moment he arrived at Wasps five seasons ago. Now, carefully nurtured by Nigel Melville -- and who better to teach anyone the arts and foibles of scrum-half play -- he has graduated to full international honours, capped and picked in the starting line-up for England against Canada and America on the Summer Tour in 2001.

His potential was spotted on school pitches at home in Yorkshire and there was never any doubt where Martyn would end up when Nigel became Director of Rugby at Sudbury, as the game prepared to go professional. He waited patiently for his first full game at Loftus Road for and was outstanding in a powerful win against Sale.

He has a full armoury of options at scrum half -- a strong and lengthy pass, sharp break, intelligent kicks in either attack or defence, and constantly looks to join the line out wide. Martyn really came of age in the 98/99 season, establishing a first team place and forcing his way into Clive Woodward's World Cup squad.