Lewis Moody: Firsts & Lasts
In the fifth of our series we speak to Lewis Moody who talks about his first and last games as England captain.
Lewis Moody was a No.7 who played with his heart and soul, a tough, physical openside who won 71 caps for England in what he describes as a roller coaster career.
It was Moody who won the lineout which fed Jonny Wilkinson’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winning drop goal.
Dubbed Mad Dog Moody, after Brian Ashton said, during the 2007 World Cup, that everybody needs a mad dog in their side he was, nonetheless, struggling with emotions during his last couple of international years and when appointed captain.
'My hero'
That saw him advised by a sports psychologist to take a particular piece of music, a world class moment or memory and a very meaningful personal object to test matches. The track was Foo Fighters ‘My Hero’, the memory taking on Richie Mcaw during the Lions series in 2005, while holding in his hand his Great Grandfather and namesake Lewis Walton Moody’s First World War Mons Star, the medal awarded to regular soldiers who fought in Europe.
“It was a mark of respect and a way to reflect and meditate and part of my routine as England captain,” he says.
Moody didn’t seek the captaincy, in fact when the call came a mere two days before England were scheduled to meet a burgeoning Les Bleus at Stade de France in 2010, he ghosted the call.
He found captaincy a daunting prospect, not least because of earlier knock backs, including one just 18 months earlier, from long-time friend and England manager, Martin Johnson, who asked him to tour Argentina as a mentor to new players, not to be on the pitch.
“I always tried to accept any roles I was given, to play my part, but I was bitterly disappointed,” he says.
First – 20 March 2010 v France in Paris (England 10 – 12 France)
“I was part of the leadership group and I knew Borthers (Steve Borthwick) was struggling with a knee injury. At our last training session on the Wednesday, Johno told me that if Steve didn’t come through a fitness test, I would captain.
“We all went home to our families on our day off and I was really conflicted. I never saw myself as captain, I was nervous about the responsibility, would I make the right decisions, have the respect of the players.
“I was playing with my son on the trampoline and I screened the call because I was anxious about the decision. About 15 minutes later, I saw Johno’s daughter coming along the garden path and there he was, they lived just around the corner in Leicester. Standing by the trampoline he said: ‘All right mate, do you want to be captain?’ and I said ‘Yes!’
'Highs and lows'
I hope he found it a pretty cool moment, I certainly did. There was no way I would ever have turned down captaining my country, despite my personal doubts. I called my parents. Mum cried and dad was quietly super proud, in that post war, understated way.
“It was a pretty strange period, as it can always be in sport. In the previous Six Nations match against Scotland I was dropped and looking after Ben Youngs on his debut. It was always a roller coaster of highs and lows.
“At the Stade, I was so emotional in the changing room team talk that I was practically in tears and one of the other senior players took over because I was getting so fired up. I think Johno made seven changes after the draw with Scotland and we ran France pretty close in their own backyard. We played in torrential rain, Ben Foden scored his first international try, Chris Ashton was making his debut and we played much better than previously.
“France hung on in the second half and they deserved their Grand Slam, they had some wonderful players in that team under Thierry Dusautoir. I recall feeling great confidence in our players during that game and we could have won it, that same team went on to beat the Wallabies in Australia for only the third time ever on our summer tour that year.
“I remember that post-match function in Paris. Standing up and speaking in front of everyone is so much easier as captain because you are talking from the heart and reflecting on the game. As I walked up to the lectern the England team began chanting my name. That was a really overwhelming but extremely moving moment.”
Last - 8 October 2011, the RWC quarter finals in New Zealand (England 12 – 19 France)
“Yes we ….ing lost to France again but we shouldn’t have, not with the squad Johno built from that earlier match in Paris. There was lots of young talent coming through and I think we felt we were building nicely to that world tournament in New Zealand.
“But in New Zealand the spotlight was really on us and there were too many distractions that derailed us. We certainly had the ability to beat France if we hadn’t been carrying so much baggage. We were good enough to make the semis and the further you get in a World Cup, the more the focus is there.
“Ben Foden and Mark Cueto scored tries and Cuets was dragged down just short of the line. We had a number of opportunities when we could have scored. I realised that my only real regret of my international career was that I hadn’t captained the team earlier because I had learned so much about myself as a leader in that time but my time had run out.”
'A bittersweet moment'
“I was 32 then and I knew that that Rugby World Cup would be my last involvement with England. All I ever wanted to do as a young man was play for England and I was enormously proud every time I got to wear that jersey.
“My parents were there, as well as my wife Annie and my two sons. Ethan, at one year old, stayed in the stands with Annie, while Dylan, who was four, came on the pitch with me at the end. It was a bittersweet moment.”
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