HEREFORD schoolboy Barney Woods has experienced the highs and lows of being an England rugby player.

Woods had two victories and a defeat with the England Under-16 A team at the Millfield International Festival in Somerset.

The 16-year-old from Bodenham was yellow-carded against Scotland.

But he said: “It was a case of mistaken identity. The referee thought I had committed the offence but when we looked back at the video of the match, it wasn’t me who had committed it.”

Woods played at number 8 in a disappointing 17-3 defeat to Scotland Under-17 in England A’s opening match.

He came on as a substitute at number 8 in the 32-3 win over Portugal Under-17 and he then started at flanker in England’s 36-6 hammering of France Under-16 A.

“It was a fantastic experience,” said Woods, a pupil at the Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School.

“We started off slowly but we picked up against Portugal and did very well against France who were supposed to be a very good team.”

Woods, who has captained Bishop’s and the North Midlands, hopes to gain further honours for England at under-18 level.