LOOK Keith Wood straight in the eye and you meet the unblinking gaze of a born predator. That look, poised and uncompromising, is precisely what front rows up throughout England have been getting in full measure since the former Garryowen hookers burst upon the Courage League scene five weeks ago.
Wood does not mess about on or off the pitch. Initial attempts to talk with him were courteously resisted because he was still feeling the ill effects of a fearsome battering by the Northampton pack. This 6ft, 15st 12lb competitor invariably digs deep to dredge up the last iota of strength and adrenalin for club and country.
He is, in an Irish phrase, never backward about going forward. What makes Wood different from other hookers is his relentless ambition to become the complete rugby player. Once the whistle goes he recognises no distinction between forwards and backs and accepts no indulgence from pacemen merely because he works at the coalface. In loose play Wood swoops and dives like a shark, plunging through bodies, laying off passes and scoring tries because for him that is rugby heaven.
According to Harlequins director of rugby Dick Best, "Keith has injected a great deal of pace and power into a tight five that, without him, was going to hold its own without necessarily running the show."
Best targeted Wood in 1994 after the then 22 year old made a sensational Test debut against Australia that had the Brisbane locals reaching for their XXXXs. This summer Best flew to Dublin and made the Irish Permanent's best known customer adviser an offer he couldn't refuse. Another former international coach, Ireland's Gerry Murphy, said of Wood during his tenure: "He has been our outstanding player and has the potential to be world class."
That testimonial came after Wood had helped Garryowen to a couple of All Ireland League titles in 1992 and 1994 and before his Test career was put on hold by a persistent shoulder injury that virtually wiped out the 1994-95 season for him.
Last year's World Cup campaign also ended prematurely for him with the same injury. Wood, though, takes the long view that earned his father Gordon 31 caps for Ireland and the Lions in a seven year Test career, and he has every intention of winning back the green number two shirt.
"I've loved it since I came to Harlequins," he admitted. "Back home I'd been out of action with the injury for quite a while, I needed a fresh challenge, and it seemed the right time to make a change.
"Harlequins is a very good club and I like their style of play which suits what I have to offer. Since the season started we have been a fairly settled team which has helped us gel together and win all our matches to date. We still have to sort out exactly what individual players should be doing within the overall team pattern but we're getting there."
A professional contract and clearly defined competitive goals - in August the Quins squad decided they wanted to win the League - are major assets to Wood, the type of natural talent that has often drifted into limbo in the inconsistent world of Irish club rugby.
In the early 90s Wood learned a great deal about the interactive role of forwards and backs from the New Zealander Murray Kidd, who coached Garryowen before accepting the Ireland job, yet earlier this year the hooker appeared to be out of luck, and perhaps out of favour. Now Best has assumed the man management role previously undertaken by Kidd at club level.
"In the dressingroom Keith acts as a genuine catalyst to team building, which is very important at this stage, other new players having come in to the side," he explained. "I believe we haven't seen the best of Keith yet. He can do the running as well as the hard work in the tight five. He helps the back row by operating as an extra ball carrier who gets across the gain line. And he gets a big charge out of scoring tries."
At 24 Wood looks and behaves like a man half a dozen years older - which is probably a good thing in the hothouse atmosphere of the Stoop where gilded youth has never been in short supply.
"It was a big decision to quit Dublin but, without saying anything against Ireland, I felt the best thing I could do for my rugby was to come to London," he said. "The game just wasn't structured right in Ireland, so it was a great opportunity for me and I've signed up here for quite a few years.
Wood confessed that becoming a full time pro has forced him to rethink and re order the way he spends his time after years of juggling his bank job with training. "It feels quite unusual and at times very difficult. You have to develop another focus to your day because you cannot be thinking rugby 100 per cent. You need to divert yourself away from the game and mould your personal situation until you feel comfortable with it. In a way it's another challenge."
It would certainly suit the growing number of Irish internationals in the Courage League if some Ireland squad sessions were held at Sunbury, the home of London Irish where the idea has surfaced informally, but for the moment Wood must fly to Dublin and back each time he gets the call.
"Everyone wants to play for his country and I hope it will never come to the stage where circumstances would stop me doing that. Obviously I want to get back into the Irish squad and just play, which is what I love most."
Harlequins are strong favourites to maintain their position as League leaders and their 100 per cent record - with another win against Orrell in today's game at the Stoop, but Wood, who has seen any number of false dawns in Ireland, is not counting any chickens.
"We have the desire, we have the players and we've made a great start with five wins out of five games, but the truth is that means nothing unless you keep winning the next match. Our confidence is up for sure but it's premature to talk about winning the League at this stage of the season."
Premature too but hardly unrealistic to predict that Wood will emulate his father and play for the Lions in South Africa next summer. The manager, Fran Cotton has already seen the Irishman give Bristol the runaround.
