Plucked from the Sydney representative team and offered a rugby scholarship to the exclusive Scots College, Woodhouse stands on the verge of becoming the second youn-gest player to suit up for the NSW Waratahs in the Super 14 competition.

If he can earn selection this season, he will join Kurtley Beale as 18-year-old Waratah debutants in Super rugby.

Since that day at the 2007 tournament in Brisbane, Woodhouse has risen from Hawkesbury Valley's under 17 team (now the under 21 Colts), to playing for the NSW Schoolboys and then earning selection as the starting No.15 for the Australian Schoolboys on their tour of the UK late last year.

His NSW Schoolboys form at the national carnival at Knox Grammar also landed him a three-year professional contract with the Junior Waratahs.

On return from England just bef- ore Christmas, Woodhouse joined the Waratahs senior squad for pre-season training, culminating in the opportunity to come off the bench alongside Daniel Halanghu, Will Caldwell and fellow Hawkesbury-ite David Dennis in the team's first trial against Queensland in Lismore last month.

It's a rise that has him hungry for higher honours - and he is weighing up offers from Shute Shield clubs at the moment.

"I am hoping to play a few first grade games for a club and I've been told the position I'm in with the Tahs means I could be ready for a Super 14 call up later this year or definitely next year," Wood- house, who models his game on NSW pointscore recordholder Mat Burke, said.

"The past few months I've been training with the main squad with blokes like Berrick Barnes and Phil Waugh but now there are the A Games and I've got the first one at this Saturday night (last week).

"I started at the end of last year, it's pretty good to know that selectors are looking at me outside the schools system.

"(The Tahs trial) was pretty physical, I didn't get as much ball as I was hoping for out on the wing but it was a really good experience."

Woodhouse, who attended Chisholm Catholic and Bede Polding before moving to Scots, said the trip to the UK, where the Austra- lian Schoolboys played six matches in 18 and had another cancelled due to a frozen pitch, was a real eyeopener.