PHYSICAL STRENGTH and durability are essential attributes for those who play their rugby in the turbulent heart of the scrum, the higher the level, the greater the intensity and the greater the demands. No one could be in any doubt that Ireland hooker Keith Wood has always relished the physical challenge.

But Wood, in many respects, is not in the general mould of hookers. He has pace, very good hands, and has a keen football brain. His former coach at Harlequins, Dick Best, said of him: "He is probably the fastest forward in the club, the most explosive forward close to the line in the English League. He can pass and kick as well as many backs. He is in my opinion a Lions Test player, as good in his position as any player in the game. The intensity at which he plays is such chat the worry about him is whether he can stay free from injury."

In effect, Wood's game is high risk.

Best's accolade was made last September after Wood played against London Irish in the Courage League. He was voted man of the match on that occasion. At that time, he was in his initial weeks with Harlequins, having joined the club in the summer from Garryowen. For Wood, it was another comeback after three shoulder operations. He was out of the game for the entire 1995-96 season after he sustained a dislocated shoulder playing for Ireland in the World Cup against Japan in Bloemfontein in May 1995.

At that time, and in view of his recurring shoulder injuries, it was felt that he might not play again. "I never saw it that way," says Wood. "I was assured that the shoulder would stand up to the demands of the game. It was frustrating to miss a season, but I had to be patient to get it right."

Patience is not a virtue he shows on the field, his is an all-action approach. "He is the most mobile hooker I have ever seen," says Best.

But while Wood has repeatedly shown the physical hardness required in his position, he has also revealed immense dedication and strength of mind. That is part of the make-up of the man," says Best. Without that dedication and mental and physical toughness there is no doubt that Wood would not this afternoon be playing for the Lions in the first Test against South Africa.

Having made a full recovery from the operation after the match in Bloemfontein, Wood was back at his vibrant best. Not originally a member of the Ireland squad last season, he made his representative return when he captained the Ireland A team to victory over South Africa A in Donnybrook. A few hours later, Ireland lost to Western Samoa at Lansdowne Road, with Wood a spectator.

Wood was outstanding in the A match and not alone was he back in the Ireland side to meet Australia in November, but he was made captain of the team. He led Ireland into the Five Nations Championship, but in the first match of that campaign he sustained another shoulder injury, this time to his left shoulder.

So it was back to the specialist again and yet another operation to insert a pin in the shoulder. He missed the rest of the Five Nations Championship and time was running out for him in the context of the Lions tour.

"My return was not quite as quick as I hoped, but both Lions manager Fran Cotton and coach Ian McGeechan gave me every chance to improve my fitness. I am extremely grateful to both for their patience and their faith," says Wood.

So anxious were Cotton and McGeechan to have Wood in the Lions squad that he was selected even though he was still not match fit. It is the kind of faith that has been rewarded by his performances on tour. "I played five matches in a two week period when I came back in April after the operation and was happy that everything was fine," says the 25-year-old Wood.

Wood's rugby pedigree is impressive. His father, Gordon, who died when Keith was 10, was capped 29 times for Ireland between 1954 and 1961 as a prop forward and was a member of the Lions team that toured New Zealand and Australia in 1959. He played in two Tests on that tour. Gordon played for Garryowen and Lansdowne in a very distinguished career.

"Living in Limerick and with my family background, it was inevitable that I would play rugby," says Wood. "But I am a strange kind of person in some ways and when I started playing the game I was not really conscious or motivated by the fact that my father had been an international. It was not a motivating force for me. People were always referring to my father, but I really played the game because I enjoyed playing it.

"I did not set my sights on emulating my dad. A lot of players with famous fathers have fallen by the wayside in sport, maybe weighed down by the burden of trying to follow in their father's footsteps. That was never a factor with me. I joined Garryowen, not because my father played for the club, but because they asked me to join.

"I realise that comparisons are inevitable, but I set out my own stall. The further I went in the game I suppose the greater my own personal ambition. When I first got into the Munster team in the early 90s, that was an incentive to go that bit further. I was brought up in a rugby household, but the question of creating family records was not an issue or a burden."

Wood was on the Garryowen teams that won the All-Ireland League in 1991-92 and 1993-94. Getting into the Munster team was not an easy matter as international Terry Kingston held down the position. Wood was, in fact, an Ireland replacement before he established himself on the provincial side. He made the big breakthrough in Australia in 1994 when he displaced Kingston on the Ireland side for the first Test and played so well in both the first and second Tests that Bob Dwyer, the Australian coach described him as "world class".

But even before that, he had problems with his shoulders. "If I added all the time up, I think in all I have spent about two-and-a-half years out of the game because of shoulder problems. I have had four operations, two on each shoulder."

Did he at any stage think of giving up? "It was frustrating, but I was always determined to get back once I was assured by the doctors that I could," he says.

He played against the United States in the autumn of 1994 and was first choice hooker for the Five Nations in 1995. Dropped after two matches, Terry Kingston returned and was made captain of the World Cup team. Wood was chosen in the cup squad and then came the early departure following the injury against Japan in Bloemfontein. "Missing the entire 1995-96 season was necessary if I was to make a full recovery.

A sportsman of rounded talents, he played hurling and soccer at under-age level for Clare. "I have had ups and downs in the game, but I play as hard as I can - I do not know any other way. If I could not do that I would not want to play," he says.

He has completed his first season as a full-time professional rugby player and is very happy with Harlequins. "I suppose they are a strange club in some ways. You could not compare them to the Irish clubs. It is a different kind of ethic but the club has its own character.

"Rugby is my career now and frankly it is my intention to stay playing in England for the foreseeable future. I understand the desire to get Irish players to return to play in Ireland and it is a worthy goal. In an ideal world, that would be great. I believe playing in England has helped some Irish players, and not others, as we have seen.

Wood has been offered a category one contract by the IRFU as an incentive to return to Ireland, but he will not be exercising that option. "I feel, in my situation, it is in my best interests to stay playing in England. People must look at the situation and exercise their best options according to their own particular circumstances. Some players are more suited to staying at home, and must take that into consideration because it is an important factor.

When he runs out in the Lions jersey to face the Springboks this afternoon, will it be the highlight of his career? Without the slightest hesitation, he says: "No, I am delighted and proud to be playing in the test, but the pinnacle for me will always be captaining Ireland. Nothing can equal that."