Saturday 12 July 2014

Lewis Moody was the ultimate team player but his fearlessness was also his Achilles heel

There was no such thing as a lost cause for Lewis Moody, no such thing as an intimidating opponent which is why he once foolishly clattered Martin Johnson when he was least expecting it at Leicester training. Johnson decked him. Moody took that as a compliment.

Battle scars: Lewis Moody's career was blighted by injury Photo: GETTY IMAGES

There was no tribute to Moody that would not have contained words such as abrasive, fearless, loyal and relentless. Those were the hallmarks by which he was known round the world during a 16-year career.

So in keeping was his style of play with that of the club he served for 14 years, Leicester, it came as something as a surprise to recall that he was actually born in Ascot.

There wasn’t much of a Home Counties boy about Moody on the field of play. He was a team man to the core, selfless and without ego, valued by his mates for always being there and ready to serve.

If these qualities were admirable, they are also the reason why ultimately Moody will be considered a terrifically good international player but not belonging to the pantheon of greats.

Openside flankers such as Richie McCaw, Jean-Pierre Rives and Michael Jones had supreme all-round skills, and could comfortably have played in almost any position on the field.

They were adept ball handlers, blessed with great athleticism and vision. Moody was a more instinctive player, one who put his body on his line, sometimes before his brain.

There were occasions when such fearlessness became recklessness, either resulting in penalties being conceded or his body being smashed. He only had a brief career with the British and Irish Lions, featuring on the 2005 tour to New Zealand, a lengthy stint in that famous red shirt usually the yardstick of true excellence. Injury was a constant curse.

The was always a sense in the latter stages of Moody’s career that he was a cross between a six and a seven, not wholly at home in the scavenging role of the modern-day openside but with all the qualities of a supreme blindside.

Injury also took its toll on Moody’s career, with several lengthy spells on the sidelines as he nursed his body back from trouble. There was not a part of him that was not at some point damaged.

That he persevered was a tribute to his character, a resilience that came to the fore also when he was out on the field. Team-mates respected him for that, opponents feared him for they knew there would be no hiding place out where it mattered. Moody never once shirked his duties.

It’s hard to think of a player that would have been more steadfast than Lewis Moody, anyone who was braver in the pursuit of an opponent.

It was perhaps something of a surprise when he was made England captain, not that anyone doubted his ability to lead from the front, more that he never seemed to relish being front-of- house.

He always fancied being a foot soldier, doing the grunt work rather than taking the plaudits. However, his elevation to the captaincy in 2010 had a significant impact on England, with back-to-back victories over the Wallabies, one of them on their turf. His team-mates responded to Moody’s genuine nature, his honesty and openness.

That it all went so horribly wrong in the 2011 World Cup was all rather sad for Moody in particular. It was not his fault, of course, but he did express regret that, on that fateful dwarf-throwing night, he did not instruct those England team-mates there to return home with him.

That, in a way, was Moody — always close to the heart of the action, sometimes too close. He was a very good man and a very fine player, noble attributes.

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