Rex Mossop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rex Peers 'Moose' Mossop (born 1928 at Five Dock in Sydney) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player - a dual international and an Australian Television personality of the 1970s and 80s.

Mossop played rugby union for the Manly club and played 8 tests for the Wallabies from 1948 to 1951. His international rugby career was played at Lock.

Switching to Rugby League in the UK in 1951 he played with Rugby League Championship side Leigh. He returned to Australia in 1956, joining the Manly Sea Eagles and becoming the cornerstone of their forward pack in the late 50s.

He played in the Manly sides that lost to the St George Dragons in Grand Finals in 1957 and 1959.

He first represented Australia in rugby league at age 30 in 1958 in the first Test against Great Britain in Sydney, an appearance which saw him become Australia's 25th dual code rugby international, following Ken Kearney and preceding Arthur Summons. He then toured with the Kangaroos to Great Britain in 1959/60 as vice captain. He played a total of 9 rugby league Tests for Australia.

He played 136 games for Manly, ever an aggressive Front-Row Forward.

From 1963 he became a successful rugby league commentator. He spent 20 years as host of a Rugby League panel discussion programme "Controversy Corner". From the early 1970s till 1990 on Sydney Channels Seven and then Ten he was the voice of Rugby League and the pre-eminent TV match broadcast caller. His criticism of players and referees was blunt and uncompromising and his calling style was parochial (towards Manly) and often filled with tautological descriptors that in eastern state Australian vernacular became known as "Mossopisms":

"if I keep getting Boyd and O'Grady mixed up, it's because they look alike, especially around the head"
"tiny, diminutive, little Mark Shulman"
"he seems to be favouring a groin injury at the top of his leg"
"now the referee's giving him a verbal tongue lashing"

He became a life member of the NSWRL in 1999 in recognition of services to the game. In 2006, Mossop was named in both the Manly Rugby League and Manly Rugby Union "best ever" sides, highlighting his enormous contribution to both codes.