During his playing days, the former Harlequins and Munster star was a very skilled hooker who was ahead of his time in terms of Irish Rugby advancements.

Wood, who retired from international rugby in 2003, two years after being named the first World Player of the Year, was instrumental in the growth of future Irish rugby players like Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, and Paul O’Connell.

Two years after his retirement, Wood was inducted into the International Rugby Hall Of Fame and continued to be closely associated with the sport as a BBC commentator.

Still at the forefront of the rugby conversation, Wood, whose two sons, Gordon and Tom, are making their way through the Munster set-up as skilful ball-playing backline players, has offered several interesting thoughts on the future of the sport.

Speaking on the popular Irish sports radio show ‘Off The Ball’, Wood was asked by host Joe Molloy about his thoughts on World Rugby’s proposed law changes.

One law in particular that Wood felt strongly about was the number of substitutions available to teams

Given the vast range of bench configurations used by professional teams, Wood’s analysis of what he believed the legislation should include has been a heated topic this past year.

Molloy struck up a conversation by asking Wood which modifications to the law he would support.

Wood said, “There are a few aspects to it, but I think capping the number of substitutes is a big thing,” adding, “I think we should really be down to four or five subs.”

This implies that coaches would still be able to choose which players to come on from a panel of bench players, not that they would be restricted to only four or five individuals.