If Mike Brown can handle my girl then he'll be fine against the All Blacks, says Nottingham Forest legend Tony Woodcock

  • England ace Mike Brown is to marry Tony Woodcock's daughter Eliza
  • Wedding day has been put back to 2016 because of the World Cup
  • Agents, wives and girlfriends have been briefed by Stuart Lancaster

Having Tony Woodcock as a potential father-in-law did not always have its advantages. When Woodcock first discovered his daughter was dating ‘a rugby player called Mike Brown’, the former England footballer had him checked out.

‘I’d done a bit of business with Jason Leonard in the past so I asked Jason to find out what the boy was like,’ says Woodcock, with a smile. ‘Jason has a long history with Harlequins and Mike is at Quins, and I’m pleased to say the report was very positive.’

Brown laughs a little nervously as Woodcock tells the story in the kitchen of the Esher home the England full back now shares with Eliza, a fashion designer even her protective father describes as ‘feisty’.

Harlequins and England full back Mike Brown (left) with potential father-in-law Tony Woodcock

Harlequins and England full back Mike Brown (left) with potential father-in-law Tony Woodcock

‘If Mike can handle her we’ll be OK against the All Blacks,’ says Woodcock. ‘I said as much to (England head coach) Stuart Lancaster. He found that funny.’


Brown finds it funny too, and it quickly becomes obvious the two men get on well. These days, Brown can even see the benefit of having an ex-professional sportsman as a mentor and adviser as he navigates his way through his rugby career. Woodcock, who scored 16 goals in his 42 England appearances, has always had a sharp business mind.

He has a successful finance business and with his partner, Susan, is also the co-founder of Tsu’Chu Biz, a foundation designed to get young people back into employment by creating their own business through football.

Woodcock was also involved in the formation of one of the first sports management agencies when he was a young player at Nottingham Forest in the 1970s. He and Peter Shilton went into business with Jon Holmes, who lived in Nottingham at the time and would become one of the most prominent agents in football with a client list that included Gary Lineker.

Rugby player Brown obviously gets on well with former footballer Woodock

Rugby player Brown obviously gets on well with former footballer Woodock

‘I always negotiated my own deals,’ says Woodcock. ‘When I signed pro forms at Forest they offered me eight quid a week. But I knew the second-year pros were on between 13 and 19 quid a week and I made the point I was already as good as those lads and should therefore be paid the same. They made me sweat for about 10 days but I got an extra fiver, and the experience stood me in good stead.’

Agents were rare in football back then. When he was debating whether to leave Forest for Cologne, the conversations he had about a possible wage increase were directly with manager Brian Clough.

‘When I told him what I was being offered in Germany, he just looked at me and said “well we’re not bloody paying that”,’ recalls Woodcock.

‘The wage I asked for was actually less than what was on offer in Germany. But when the president and club secretary came over from Cologne to discuss the deal, Cloughie wouldn’t let them in the ground. In the end he agreed to give me whatever I wanted, but by then it was too late. I’d given my word to Cologne.’

Brown negotiated his last contract with Harlequins. He had Woodcock in the background as ‘a sounding board’ but attended the meetings on his own.

‘It’s good to be able to sit back and choose the best option for myself knowing that I’ve got someone who’s looking out for what is best for me,’ says Brown.

‘It was quite easy doing my own contract at Quins because I have been at the club a long time and I have a good relationship with Conor (O’Shea, the director of rugby). I just wanted to get it all sorted so I can focus on next year’s World Cup.

‘Having someone of Tony’s experience gives you more confidence to do things for yourself. He’s been through it. He understands the business.’

Brown and  fashion designer Eliza have had to delay wedding day until 2016

Brown and fashion designer Eliza have had to delay wedding day until 2016

Woodcock says Brown is ‘his own man’, adding: ‘Mike looks after Mike — but I can offer some advice when it’s needed. He’s very professional and he’s got his head screwed on. He could have waited to discuss a new contract until after the World Cup, when he might be in a stronger position. But he wanted to be settled for next year, and that was very much his decision.’

Beyond the serious stuff they discuss, there is plenty of banter. Brown is a passionate Manchester United fan and Woodcock will send him video clips of goals he once scored against them.

‘He never says he’s received them,’ says Woodcock.

But there is also a huge amount of mutual respect. Not least from the European Cup-winning former England striker towards the rugby player recognised as his country’s finest last year.

‘I thought rugby was a game where you just throw the ball in the middle and everyone has a scrap,’ Woodcock admits. ‘But now I read the stuff Mike gets sent. The stuff on tactics, the different moves. And the way he trains; it’s just incredible. I’m a big rugby fan now.’

Woodcock (centre) holding the European Cup after Nottingham Forest's triumph in 1979

Woodcock (centre) holding the European Cup after Nottingham Forest's triumph in 1979

Brown asked Woodcock to attend a recent meeting Lancaster called for the agents and representatives of his England players. Held at Twickenham, Lancaster wanted to make sure they understood what will be required of the players in the build-up to next year’s World Cup. Woodcock was amazed.

‘Mike asked me to go along and have a listen,’ says Woodcock. ‘And the attention to detail, even with the experience I’ve had in football, was second to none.

‘We were briefed about what was happening and Stuart Lancaster was saying he wanted them on board. It was all about how we’re all in this together. Eliza has been briefed too. The wives and girlfriends have been told what to expect leading up to the World Cup.

‘It’s incredibly impressive. The next year is all planned out. They virtually know what time they are going to bed and what they are eating six months from now.

‘It wasn’t a case of them saying “you can’t do this and you can’t do that”. It was more stressing the importance of the next 12 months, and making sure that whoever is involved is committed to that. There’s a three-week break at the end of the season, when he doesn’t want them doing anything.’

Brown explains further.

‘The season doesn’t finish at the same time for all of us but when we rest has been planned already,’ he says. ‘Everyone will have a three-week break because it’s all about peaking at the right time.

‘And Stuart wants to make sure everyone is on the same page. That’s been his mantra since he came in. It’s good for the people who are closest to you, who can have an influence on your life, to know what is happening.

‘At the same time the England management are keeping a very close check on us. They are in communication with the clubs all the time. They keep a check on our body fat. We have regular fitness tests, that kind of thing.’

Woodcock, now 58, went to the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain with Ron Greenwood’s England.

‘I don’t remember much of stuff like that,’ he says. ‘The most memorable aspect of it was the fact that it was just after the Falklands War,’ he says.

Woodcock scores the first goal for England in a 2-0 victory against Holland in 1982 

Woodcock scores the first goal for England in a 2-0 victory against Holland in 1982 

‘We had soldiers and tanks around us. I remember the armoured cars following the team bus wherever we went. Soldiers were all over the place because they feared we could be attacked. I also remember the fact that I was playing in Germany and the Germans were that bit more organised.

‘Their season finished weeks earlier than the English season and I ended up in a bit of limbo.

‘The England-based players were still playing and the German squad were playing practice matches. By the time we got to Spain, I hadn’t played for about six weeks.

‘There also wasn’t much sports science then. At Forest we used to train next to an abattoir and occasionally one of the bulls would escape and run on to our pitch, bringing training to a halt.’

Brown, now 29, employs some old-school training methods very much from Woodcock’s era. For the past four years he has enlisted the help of Margot Wells, the wife of 1980 Olympic sprint champion Allan and someone Brown credits with playing a significant role in his rise to prominence.

Brown employs some old-school training methods to increase power, strength and speed

Mrs Wells is a specialist in power, strength and speed coaching and Brown will perform the same ‘speedball’ sessions the one-time world’s fastest man used to swear by. ‘We do the sessions in Margot’s garage,’ says Brown. ‘She has worked with a number of rugby players and has really sorted me out athletically.

‘She can be quite maternal but she can also be a powerful, impressive woman. She focuses on body management, which will hopefully keep the injuries away too. I used to work with her in addition to my training at Quins but they have seen the benefit, so now I sometimes see her instead of training with the club. They trust me to do that.’

As Woodcock says, Brown has delivered ‘at the highest level, against Australia and New Zealand as well as in the Six Nations.

‘And once you do that I think you can kick on. He’s fought so hard to get to this point but I think his best years are now ahead of him.’

Brown’s blend of speed, skill and aggression is something he certainly hopes to put to good use this autumn. ‘It’s a massive month for us,’ says Brown of England’s encounters with New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, as well as Samoa. ‘It’s an opportunity for us to stamp our authority. It would be good for our confidence to push on now; good to show people what we’re about. Obviously a tournament will be very different, but it’s the start of a big 12 months.’ 

At that meeting with the agents, Lancaster used Brown as an example of the commitment he expects. He did not mention Brown by name but Woodcock knew to whom he was referring when he said one of his players had delayed his wedding until 2016, so as not to interfere with preparation for the World Cup.

‘I asked Tony for his permission first, of course, but I proposed in the summer,’ says Brown. ‘Eliza was very understanding about waiting until 2016. Obviously, with the World Cup training camp and the need to get rest, it would have been quite difficult to fit in a wedding.

‘I didn’t delay it to impress anyone. I did it for myself and what I want to achieve. I want to play in a World Cup. I’ve never done that before. But if I am lucky enough to play I also want to do well.

‘As a team we have a realistic chance of winning it, and being in our home country makes it all the more special. Anything I can do to put myself in the best position, I intend to do.’

There is one other advantage to delaying the wedding.

‘It also gives Tony time to save up, which as you can see he’s very happy about,’ says Brown.

Cue more nervous laughter.

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