'The Saracens debacle and fallout, you can see it in the performances that it has clearly impacted'
Lewis Moody was knocking around south-west London on Saturday just like old times. There in the shadows of Twickenham, the great Test rugby cathedral he graced on so many occasions during a decade-long, World Cup-winning career, he dared to put the boots on one more time.
The England versus Ireland legends game at the Stoop is now a staple of the spring calendar, an eve-of-Six-Nations-Test shindig where old friendships are renewed and a swag of cash is raised for charity. Sweet.
Yet it wasn’t without its anxiety. Just four months shy of his 42nd birthday, Moody wasn’t at all sure how his body might stand up to the challenge of giving it socks. “It has probably been four years since I put the boots on in a contact match and actually attempted to make a tackle. I’m hoping it will be like riding a bike,” he quipped to RugbyPass.
“But this is awesome. It’s a chance to catch up with English lads like Ben Cohen, to rekindle some Irish friendships like Shane Byrne and Gordon D’Arcy and various different characters you got to play with on Lions trips. It makes it even more special. You just hope that the level of competition can be at a level that is acceptable to all.”
As regards the main event, the Sunday service across the road at a jam-packed rugby HQ, Moody isn’t immune to the dynamics surrounding this meeting of Eddie Jones’ England and Andy Farrell’s Ireland, a contest where the visitors will arrive trying to clinch silverware.
(Continue reading below…)
Eddie Jones and George Ford look ahead to England’s Six Nations clash with Ireland
The ex-Leicester flanker was in Andy Robinson’s side in 2006 when the Irish nicked the Triple Crown with a stunning late try in the corner. More interestingly, he was part of the group that attempted to pick up the pieces in the Six Nations following the 2007 World Cup final, an exercise that Jones’ current crew are currently struggling to negotiate.
Twelve years ago, England were ransacked at home by Wales in their first game back post-RWC and then struggled to pip Italy over in Rome, the sort of indifferent performances that mirror the current February carry-on where the recent RWC finalists have lost to France and only narrowly squeezed past Scotland.
However, whereas Moody puts that difficult 2008 campaign down simply to England not being good enough, an impression endorsed by the post-tournament decision to jettison boss Brian Ashton, he feels there is something more sinister at play with Jones and co struggling to pick up the thread of their Japanese jamboree.
Looking forward to a run around with some old pals tonight for 2 great causes.@EnglandLegends v @IrishLegends tonight 1800 @Harlequins with @miketindall13 @TomMay1 @RugbyBenCohen @AndyGomarsall @JasonLeonard114 @LewisMoody7 @nick_easter and more @Sportingclass #legends2020 pic.twitter.com/X9t3i1wmzz
— Lewis Moody (@LewisMoody7) February 22, 2020
“It was difficult for us because in 2007, reaching that final was a World Cup moment in itself because we had been so flipping bad during the whole tournament and didn’t look like getting out of the group at one stage. I am not saying it wasn’t disappointing, but this England side, having beaten New Zealand, believed that the World Cup was theirs for the taking so it would have seriously impacted them much harder.
“That being said once the tournament is done, it’s done and you move on and they have all come back into their club environments to different levels of success. I would say for this England team at the minute, I know they have said they have addressed the elephant in the room but all the issues with the Saracens debacle and fallout, you can see it in the performances that it has clearly impacted on some of the players.
“That has held them back in the performance because it was not where would have expected, certainly against France. It was off the pace. Against Scotland, in the most miserable conditions, they did what they had to which was knuckle out a close score victory and you never get an easy win in Scotland as an England team. For me, they did what they could there.
“Sunday is probably the first real test of where England actually are. If we go back to last Six Nations and the performance they put in over Ireland in that first game which no one expected, this is a big deciding game to understand where England are at.
“Whether the World Cup has affected them and whether the Saracens debacle and fallout really is impacting the psychology of players and actually are England as good as we thought. There is no doubt there is some phenomenal talent in this England side but they are not quite clicking.”
Ask Moody if he ever experienced similar club-based dressing room tensions at international level when he played and he can’t quite say for sure. “That’s a good question… not that I can’t recall. That’s not to say it didn’t happen. That’s just my memory isn’t good enough.
“I mean we had always tensions there between Wasps and Leicester during those early to mid-2000s because those sides saw themselves as the dominant Premiership team and there was always a sort of certain element of conflict, but nothing like what players are having to deal with here.
“It was purely about on-field performances week in week out and there were some characters but never the sense of impending doom around whether the players would have a job. Whether players would be thrown under the bus a little bit and get embroiled in the whole financial scenario. Whether there is more to come out. Whether the club they are playing for will actually be in existence.
“Will they get picked for England if they play in the championship? Would another club pick them if they don’t want to stay? There are so many questions probably going through players’ minds it must be a really challenging time for them. They were always going to say it hasn’t impacted them but I feel it probably has.”
"Ireland picked Robbie Henshaw out of position at fullback in this very fixture last year and paid the price. I hope I’m wrong but England might just be making exactly the same mistake."
– @AndyGoode10 doesn't fancy Eddie's latest selection#ENGvIRE https://t.co/xMVoXUodFg
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 22, 2020
Anti Saracens sentiment isn’t the only bump in England’s road either. For the life of him, Moody just can’t understand what Jones is up to playing flanker Tom Curry in the No8 role. Moody himself tried this switch on a number of occasions at club level and hated it, so imagine what Curry might possibly be feeling having to similarly improvise in a position he hasn’t looked comfortable in.
“I imagine Eddie’s philosophy about the back row – or any of the positions – is about having the best players on the pitch. For me, Tom is a world-class flanker and No8 is a specialist position and I don’t know how much time he has had playing there prior to this.
“It’s not an easy job to switch from flanker to No8. I know, I tried it on a couple of occasions and the art of controlling the ball at the base as the scrum is moving forwards and sideways and trying to keep it away from the opposition nine and get it into the perfect position for your own scrum-half all those things take years of practice.
Is the experiment coming to Sale any time soon?https://t.co/RUpECAksdE
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 5, 2020
“There was a real trepidation because I knew how challenging it was. You had to put some time in practising behind the scrum, work with the nine. But you can practice it as much as you like… to be thrown into a game is a vastly different experience.
“Tom is a very skilful player and a tenacious character. He is doing okay but for me let Tom do what he is good at, that is being a world-class flanker and bring in someone that does the No8 role week in week out and is attuned to it. There is plenty around the league that could do that,” said Moody, a Land Rover ambassador who added he would never have taken this positional switch risk himself as a Test player.
“God no, I wouldn’t have done it at international level. I would have point blank refused because it would have impeded the team’s performance. I tried it at club level and I don’t feel like I did it justice. It would never have worked unless there was no other choice in the coach’s mind… I would always have a specialist there from just understanding how difficult it is to play No8 when you haven’t done it consistently week in week out.”
Your England side to face Ireland on Sunday at Twickenham ? #WearTheRose @O2sports
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 21, 2020
There is also the knock-on effect of Curry’s move leaving the No6 shirt to fill. “Playing Courtney (Lawes) at six? For me, he is a world-class second row. Why play him in the back row when he isn’t going to deliver as a Lewis Ludlam or someone else?”
It’s a state of flux that has Moody veering towards Ireland securing the 2020 bragging rights and leaving Farrell senior putting one over his England captain son Owen. “It’s a fascinating confrontation in terms of how they get on with it and how one will try to unpick the other’s defence and attack.”
Irish boss Andy was with Moody as an English player at the aforementioned 2007 World Cup and what he saw there left him unsurprised the ex-league star has since gone a long way in a union tracksuit. “I certainly saw him as a world-class leader,” he ventured. “He wasn’t at his playing pinnacle when he was with us in ’07 but he was still a bloody good player, a phenomenal leader who was just incredible to have in the squad.
“He just set such a good example from what he said when we were in huddles and why he said it. He didn’t speak for the sake of it. There was always a purpose and people always listened when he spoke. The intensity with which he trained whether in the gym or in the training field, he just had a sort of presence that, a bit like Martin Johnson, made you want to be around him. He made you want to be a better player.
“It was no surprise to me at all he is now a head coach. When he was with England under Stuart Lancaster I always felt he probably ran the show which was why there was a bit of conflict in that 2015 World Cup with Stuart.
“I don’t know, but having watched sessions Andy was very much the dominant character taking them and the players react to him. He has got a brilliant brain, he has just got a phenomenal presence that you want to be around as players when you know he has performed to such high levels. It gives him added respect and authority.
His right eye almost shut due to extensive bruising sustained during a collision in training on Thursday#ENGvIRE ?????????https://t.co/qqwOw8HROs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 22, 2020
“Ireland are in a better place from a performance point of view, although that Scotland game could quite easily have gone the other way. First games in the Six Nations are always a challenge when you bring teams together.
“I’d like to think at home England are going to have too much firepower and too much motivation off the back of the World Cup and a couple of tough games, but Ireland probably have the edge at the minute. They come into this game slightly more confident and are slightly the favourites.”
* Lewis Moody is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover has been helping rugby fans discover the sport for over twenty years. Visit LandRover.co.uk
WATCH: Jim Hamilton and Darren Cave discuss Sunday’s Twickenham blockbuster
Comments on RugbyPass
He is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
2 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
2 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
14 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to comments