Joe Moody on comeback trail after gruesome eye injury
After a horrendous run of injuries in 2018, which culminated in a split eyelid thanks to Brodie Retallick, All Blacks and Crusaders prop Joe Moody is back in action.
It’s been three months since Retallick stuck his thumb into Moody’s eyelid during a botched lineout move at an All Blacks training in Europe last year, but Moody places none of the blame on his international teammate for ending his 2018 season.
“That was a bit of a niggly situation,” Moody told Fairfax.
“In fairness, it was my own fault. I buggered up the lineout movement. It split it clean in half, it was sort of like the curtains were open when my eye was shut.”
Moody had to don an eyepatch for the remainder of the tour after visiting a plastic surgeon to make amends for the mishap, forcing him to miss tests against England, Ireland and Italy.
It was one of many significant injuries suffered by the 30-year-old last year, with a major shoulder surgery, a broken finger, an injured knee and a broken thumb all preceding his split eyelid injury, restricting him to just five appearances for the Crusaders and six for the All Blacks.
Moody made his return to the rugby field last week during the Crusaders’ 24-22 win over the Blues at Eden Park, his first outing since the All Blacks’ Bledisloe Cup victory over Australia in Yokohama last October.
It was a return that proved to test Moody a lot more than he anticipated thanks to Tim Perry’s broken arm.
Moody had only just been replaced by Perry early in the second half before the latter succumbed to what looked a painful injury, meaning the former had to plough through 73 minutes of action.
“It was a hell of a shock to the system,” Moody said.
“I wasn’t expecting to get 73 odd minutes, but I feel for the old mate Tim Perry more than what I do for my lungs and legs.
“I got subbed at 45 and thought my night was done. I just sort of sat down and got a few fluids on and I was back in the mixer again. You just have to embrace it. But at the same time, there is a second where you think, ‘oh, you bastard’.”
With key All Blacks being restricted to 180 minutes of action within the opening three rounds of action, the Crusaders will be forced to re-think how they’re going to implement Moody over the next fortnight as a result of his extra minutes in Auckland.
He’s listed to start against the Hurricanes in Christchurch this weekend, with the inexperienced Harry Allen set to provide cover from off the bench.
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Perry underwent surgery on Thursday, but it is not yet known when he will return.
Despite the absence of their six-test loosehead prop, Moody is confident the Crusaders can attain victory in front of their home fans, which would earn them a record 17th straight Super Rugby win.
“Without sounding too cocky, we do rate our forward pack,” he said.
“It’s one of our strengths I feel, we’d like to try and put on a bit of a show on Saturday night.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Sounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
1 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
11 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
28 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
28 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
5 Go to commentsThe real deal.
5 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
11 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
11 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
28 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
5 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
28 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
28 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
5 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
28 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
11 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
28 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
28 Go to comments