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Players go back to college for woodwork course

FOUR top Northampton Saints players have been preparing for the rugby off-season by indulging a passion for woodwork on a furniture making course at Moulton College.

Mikey Haywood, Alex Waller, and England internationals Paul Hill and Tom Wood are currently in the middle of an eight-week course at the college that is focused on improving their woodwork skills, and sees them construct small furniture items by hand and with machine tools.

The players enrolling on the woodworking course is the latest arm to the college’s partnership with the Saints, which also includes the Rugby Academy, where talented young players combine their studies at Moulton College with representing the Saints against other elite rugby colleges in the AASE League.

Saints prop Alex Waller said: “The course is something different to look forward to in the evenings after training. Woodwork and carpentry is really relaxing and gives you a different perspective on things away from rugby.”

Saints and England flanker Tom Wood said: “Life after rugby is a big thing and sport doesn’t last forever, so you always have to be prepared to do something different. We’re testing the waters to see what we are good at and what we enjoy, and for me, working with your hands and putting that final coat of finish on a project you’ve been working on for weeks is very satisfying.”

Bruce Marsh, Furniture Studies Lecturer at Moulton College said: “It is fantastic to welcome Alex, Mikey, Paul and Tom to Moulton, they are a great set of lads and their enthusiasm and passion for woodwork is infectious. Our partnership with Northampton Saints goes from strength to strength, and we look forward to continuing to work with them and provide vocational opportunities to their players and staff.

“Furniture making is just one of the many part-time courses we offer at the college, and one of the benefits, as the Saints players have seen, is that it can fit around your current job and other commitments.”

For more information on part-time study opportunities at Moulton College, visit www.moulton.ac.uk

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