A. Thomson described him thus: "Sammy ... radiated such elemental force in hard hitting, fast bowling and electrical fielding that he might have been the forerunner of Sir Learie Constantine.

He made his first-class cricket debut shortly after leaving Brighton College, in August 1886, playing for GN Wyatt's XI against the touring Australians.

Woods played the first three of his six Test cricket matches during his first year at Cambridge, called up to the Australian squad to face England in 1888 after Sammy Jones contracted smallpox.

However, by the time he was selected as part of the England Test squad to tour South Africa in 1895–96, his bowling was beginning to lose its potency.

Primarily an aggressive batsman, Woods had fast footwork and was capable of powerful strokes all around the ground, though he favoured the square cut.

[6] On one such occasion when he was 14, during the English tour of Australia of 1881–82, after buying a couple of the England team drinks, he bowled at George Ulyett in the nets.

While at the school, Woods played for the town cricket club, and by the end of the season he was seventh in the published batting averages, with a top-score of 42 not out.

He joined Brighton College in August 1884, and after playing a couple of cricket matches, the weather turned and the football season began.

For Woods, whose Australian upbringing had consisted of cricket in the summer and rugby in the winter, the realisation that 'soccer' was played at the school was one made with some dismay.

[12] Woods left Brighton College in 1886, aged 19, and shortly after, in August of the same year, he made his first-class cricket debut.

[14] After completing his time at Brighton College, Woods moved to Bridgwater where a friend of his father's helped to find him a job as a bank clerk.

After losing this job, he paid a surveyor to teach him the trade, but after an afternoon of the training, his teacher ran off with the money and soon committed suicide, bringing that to a halt.

He joined port wine and oyster clubs, (known as Rhadegund and the Natives respectively) and played both cricket and rugby during his time at the university.

[18] He made his debut for the university at Fenner's in May 1888, claiming his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket when he bowled four members of CI Thornton's XI, and had another one caught.

[29] In his reminiscences, W. G. Grace expressed his disappointment at George Giffen and Harry Moses, who he rated as Australia's best players, not travelling with the team, and also noted that they missed the bowling of Fred Spofforth.

[30] Woods, in his reminiscences, only provides a paragraph on his time playing for the Australians, and concentrates mainly on the first-ball duck he made in the match at Old Trafford, Manchester.

[38] These three Test appearances for Australia were the only he made for his native country; he was invited to play for them again when they toured England in 1890, but had to decline due to injury.

[39] In 1889, Woods was named by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as one of the "Six Great Bowlers of the Year" due to his performances for Cambridge and Australia.

Woods proved one of the deciding factors, claiming eleven wickets in the match, of which seven were bowled, and two were in combination with wicket-keeper Gregor MacGregor.

Cambridge opening batsman Henry Mordaunt scored 127 in the match, and they secured an innings victory, requiring just two of the three allocated days.

"[46] The pair shared a room together at Jesus College for two years, and on the field MacGregor proved himself capable of standing up to the wicket against Woods' bowling.

Teammate Digby Jephson described their partnership as having "machine-like precision ... the faster Sam bowled, the nearer the sticks stood Mac.

An improved display from Oxford in the second innings left Cambridge requiring 54 runs to win, which they reached with an hour of the match remaining.

[62][63] In late August, playing for the Gentlemen of England against I Zingari at the Scarborough Festival, Woods claimed 12 wickets in the match, opening the bowling alongside W. G.

[67] A combination of nerves and poor light resulted in Cambridge collapsing, and when MacGregor was dismissed, only two wickets remained with the scores level.

"[76] The loss was considered something of an embarrassment to English cricket, and prompted a number of letters to be written to Lord Hawke expressing dismay at the result.

Warner was not the only one to rate Woods so highly, he was selected as one of the "Six Great Bowlers of the Year" by Wisden in 1889 for his performances in the previous season.

[87] When Woods moved to Bridgwater in 1886 after completing his time at Brighton College, he almost immediately began playing for the town's rugby team.

[90] He selected to play for the South in 1888, and although England did not compete internationally that year due to disputes between the national boards, Woods was disappointed not to be chosen as part of the "imaginary XV".

[98][100] Playing as either a back or a forward, Woods was praised primarily for his dribbling, part of the game which he felt should be utilised more often, especially by the pack during a ruck, or following a scrum.