Lewis Moody

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Lewis Moody
Full name Lewis Walton Moody
Date of birth 1978-06-12
Place of birth Ascot, England
Height 1.90m (6ft 3in) m
Weight 104Kg (229 lb) kg
Nickname Crazy Horse
Rugby union career
Position Flanker
Professional clubs Caps (points)
1996- Leicester Tigers 86 (70)
correct as of 13 Sept 2006.
National team(s)    
2001-
2005		 England
British and Irish Lions		 40
2		 (45)
(5)
correct as of 13 Sept 2006.

Lewis Moody MBE (born 12 June 1978 in Ascot) is an English international rugby union rugby player who was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side.

[edit] Biography

When he was five he took up mini rugby at Bracknell, when a school friend suggested he join him. He was educated at Oakham School in Rutland, where he played rugby union at centre.

Moving into the Leicester Tigers youth team however, he was switched to flanker after Leon Lloyd had embarrassed him. He became the youngest Leicester Tigers' player to play a league game at 18 years and 94 days, a record now surpassed by Ollie Smith. He soon became established as Neil Back's understudy for the openside flanker shirt. Making the Tigers starting XV was difficult however, as internationals Back and Martin Corry took two of the three starting positions, with Paul Gustard and Will Johnson (younger brother of Martin) fighting for the remaining place.

He scored two tries for England Colts against Wales in April 1997, and was also a member of the side that won the Madrid Sevens at the end of that same season. He also played in both of Tigers’ European Cup wins in 2001 and 2002 and was a member of the near invincible Tigers side in the four seasons between 1998-2002.

Moody made his England debut against Canada on 2 June 2001, when the established internationals Back and Richard Hill were touring Australia with the British and Irish Lions. He won a further two caps on the North American tour and scored a try against the US Eagles in San Francisco. He was then called up to the senior squad for the match against Ireland in Dublin in October 2001 and came on to win cap number four.

The arrival of New Zealand international openside Josh Kronfeld at Leicester in 2001, threatened to relegate Moody to third choice openside. However, Kronfeld failed to settle at the club and despite offers from Harlequins and Bath, Moody decided to stay.

Continued impressive form saw him challenge his teammate, Neil Back, for the coveted England No.7 shirt, starting in two Six Nations games the following season. Moody displaced Lawrence Dallaglio from the first choice England XV for the 2002/3 autumn internationals scoring a try in the game against New Zealand, but was injured against South Africa and Dallaglio regained his place. He returned to fitness and again featured in Clive Woodward's plans, but a further injury in the first Six Nations match against France, threatened to curtail the rest of his season.

He was not considered for the summer tour due to that injury, but recovered well enough to play in the pre-world cup friendlies against France and Wales in the summer, scoring a try in the game at the Millennium Stadium.

He played a part in all seven World Cup matches and came on as a replacement in the final to replace Hill. He won the final line-out in the phase of play which led to Jonny Wilkinson’s winning drop goal. However, he had suffered a stress fracture of his foot which took a long time to heal and kept him out of the remaining 2003-4 season. Moody made a return for his club in October 2004, in the Heineken European Cup match against Calvisano. With the retirement of Dallaglio and Back and Hill out injured he started all three of England's autumn internationals. Moody remained an England mainstay into 2005. That year he became the first English player to be sent off at Twickenham, when he was dismissed for fighting during the autumn international with Leicester team-mate Alex Tuilagi.

Moody is known for the enthusiasm with which he plays the game, and is very good at chasing opponents. However, he has a tendency to give away reckless penalties at the breakdown. His favoured position is blindside flanker, rather than openside. Moody has since been injured and will miss the 2007 Six Nations campaign in its entirety.

[edit] Personal life

Married to Annie (an interior designer) in June 2006, the couple live in Kettering and have a property development company together. He enjoys extreme sports, but suffering from vertigo his current hobbies include wakeboarding.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22750-2522516,00.html
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