Lewis Moody Retires

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17272007

With immeadiate effect.

The man was a legend, 100% passion and commitment 100% of the time.

Wow, i never expected that. I could'nt stand the man at all...

I cant pay a better comment than that. When the opposition hates you, you have done a good job

Eirebilly, never thought of it like that! I suppose for a 7 and 9, that couldn't be more true. Such a shame, but frees up a huge amount of cap for us to spend big in the summer. Try and hijack Ulsters bid for Kaino please as a marquee signing.

Fair play to Moody, never thought he was one of the greats, but he always gave his all

No, i seriously rated him Bathite. One of the most committed players i have seen. He was one of the best kick chasers in world rugby, especially from his own teams kick offs.

Good to hear Eirebilly. I always loved him as a player, one of the last few old school gents left in the game. Such a pro, never got into trouble off the pitch, gave his all in everything he did.

Moody retiring just reminds me that the next generation are the likes of Ashton, Tuilagi and Brown, all talented players, but complete t ossers and really difficult for me to 'like' as a fan!

sad to see him retire. was a big fan of his, hugely committed and professional, a great servent to English rugby

Two years ago he looked back to his best when he won the captaincy, but the injuries have taken their toll. Very sad.

Its a shame he will be remebered by many as the guy who limped into his third world cup carying this shoulder problem.

"Its a shame he will be remebered by many as the guy who limped into his third world cup carying this shoulder problem."

Will he? I was thinking his red card at twickers would be his potential bad memory

One of the most committed players i have seen.

Sadly this is probably the reason he has retired early. He put his body on the line so much that the injuries have just built up to a point where the body just seemingly can't go on. Hope he returns home and Tigers find him a job on the staff.

the likes of Ashton, Tuilagi and Brown, all talented players, but complete t ossers and really difficult for me to 'like' as a fan

Manu is actually a really nice guy off the pitch. Him and his brother were often at A League games and would always walk up and down the standing area (generally where the fans were when I went) and would spend a good 20 mins signing stuff and posing for pictures. Just some end of tour hijinks that have given him a bad rep, he actually behaved himself until the games were over.

Yeah, probably a tad harsh on Manu, i'll sub in Delon! You know what I mean though, Greenwood, Hill, Johnson all gone, then Robsinson, now Wilko and Cueto and Moody. It's definitely the end of the era of players who have played at the highest level in amateur and pro eras. Just a bit sad really.

I did hear that all the older Tuilagis were lovely fellas actually (not that i'd ever say anything different in writing!)

Always gave his all for his country and although an occasional penalty machine, you would rather have him on your side than on the opposition.

I guess there is only so much Gaffa Tape the human body can stand...

Enjoy your retirement Mad Dog

Manu and his family regulalry visit my friends child in hospital. Admitedly Moody did punch the hell out of one of them for trying to decapitate Cuteo, but they are all great guys in my book. People call Josh Lewesy a hero for chinning Cipriani, a far greater acheivement than the world cup in my book.

Dont let the fisticuffs blur your opinion of true rugby players.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

the likes of Ashton, Tuilagi and Brown, all talented players, but complete t ossers and really difficult for me to 'like' as a fan

Manu is actually a really nice guy off the pitch. Him and his brother were often at A League games and would always walk up and down the standing area (generally where the fans were when I went) and would spend a good 20 mins signing stuff and posing for pictures. Just some end of tour hijinks that have given him a bad rep, he actually behaved himself until the games were over.

Brown has also put whatever problems he had behind him. People still talk about him as having a temper problem, but I haven't seen him rise to any provocation for ages.

Mr Bounce wrote: occasional penalty machine

Dont start that one again, I had to bust out the stats count to show he was on avergae penalised less often than other flankers

If commitment, effort, passion and courage were all there were to measure a player he would be one of the best to ever play.

He won't ever be one of the best but he was a great player and great servent for English rugby.

Being a Bath Fan I'm gutted, but it does free up a large slice of the salary cap.

Great servant to rugby.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:
Dont let the fisticuffs blur your opinion of true rugby players.

I'm not, Danny Grewcock and Bakkies Botha remain some of my favourite ever players!

Dont start that one again, I had to bust out the stats count to show he was on avergae penalised less often than other flankers.

That was something at the start of his career that oddly stuck. I always put it down to him being more noticeable as a player so that when he gave away a penalty it was more obvious because Moody was more easily recognisable so people assumed he gave away more penalties than he actually did. Get him in the academy set up I say.

I did hear that all the older Tuilagis were lovely fellas actually

I think they are just appreciative of the lifestyle rugby has allowed them and the support the fans provide (they were all cult heros at one time or another). Not really in their nature to get drunk and lary either.

Truly inspirational player. He played the game the way I would always want to play and the way I want my lads to play. Two years ago, when captain, he led by example on the pitch and I believe was a big part of the reason for the performance of the team. I feel bad it ended on a sour note at the World Cup.

Also a shame he was another one of those players who could have done so much more except for fighting all those injuries.

thanks for all the crazy rugby, moody.

I liked to watch him play - but not against us. More passion and determination perhaps than talent, although that goes a long way in rugby. Good luck to him.

Isn't the media much more interested in the players these days? The older players could have been up to god know's what but no-one cared. 15 years ago if someone phoned up a newspaper with "A rugby player got drunk on a night out" do you think anyone would have bothered writing about it? Even during the world cup, Irish squad went bungy jumping - no-one cared. The Irish squad went out drinking - no-one cared. The England squad goes drinking, pose for some photos with fans, including some small persons and suddenly it a crazy dwarf-throwing binging session.

Still, back on Moody. One of my favourite players. Mainly because he always seemed to care. Other may have periods of apathy or laziness but it was always a given that he'd be haring off after a kick off to smash the guy man and ball.

Thunor - true and another contributing factor of why I'm sad to see the old days go!

Bathite wrote:Thunor - true and another contributing factor of why I'm sad to see the old days go!

I agree Mr Care

Good luck to him, maybe went on a season to long but was great dog of a player who gave 110% every game and his body must be in bits.

Good Luck Lewis

Great player and a total loon, he was always great to watch.

So is Tins the last of the '03 crew now playing then?

Wilkos still playing club rugby, from what ive heard his body age could allow him to make a comeback for 2015.

Balshaw hasnt ever formaly retired form tests has he?

Julian Whites still playing part time for Tigers.

My abiding memory of Moody will be his complete dominance of Quade Cooper in the 21-20 win in Sydney.

There’s Moody: 30-odd, mechanical joints, looking almost sleight-of-build compared to the precocious opposing flanks Pockock and Elsom, not big enough to be a top-class carrier, not technical enough to be an international forager, neither the hand nor foot speed to be the best of link-men....and yet he did much to win that game for England, putting in an old-school 7’s performance which was characterised – as always – by grit, aggression and a total disregard for his own body. He hounded Cooper out of it, which knocked the Aussies off their stride, allowing England to win a game that – on paper at least – they should never have been close to.

I bet old Quade still has nightmares about it. Great man.

To paraphrase:
Mad Dog & Englishmen beat Aussie in the midday sun.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Wilkos still playing club rugby, from what ive heard his body age could allow him to make a comeback for 2015.

Balshaw hasnt ever formaly retired form tests has he?

Julian Whites still playing part time for Tigers.

Julian White will still be a part timer for Leicester when he is 60 years old. And would be able to out-scrummage almost anyone on the planet.

ust to repeat what I said on the Club board post.

I had the pleasurew of coaching Moodos a little when he was a schoolboy. Plenty of good things that can be said - but frankly Geechs covered it all with his statement:

"Lewis has been a fantastic servant to the game, and I am disappointed I will not now have another opportunity to work with him on the training pitch and watch him deliver in a Bath jersey. He has had a tremendous career and is a player I have greatly admired. He is always fully committed and is everything any coach would want in a Back Row forward.''

"He is someone whose opinion I trust and value, and he leaves a fantastic legacy from his time with Leicester, England and the Lions, which will long be remembered.''

Ps his medal trophy must match anyone in the NH i woudl have thought.

Always gave 100% and thats all you can ask really... commited to the point of lunacy. Played for 2 great clubs and had a decorated international career so he can retire a happy man.

Good luck to him

Sad to see him go. Incredibly player on his day.
And personally, I'm 19 and Lewis Moody was something of a role model when I started playing rugby in the backrow after moving down from prop. Chasing down kicks, putting pressure on flyhalfs he was one of the best at it.
Personally, I can see him getting a job as a pundit.

In a radio interview snippet on r5, he sounds to be staying at Bath in some role.

Great player with just about the best nickname in the game.

I was pretty devastated when he left Welford Road.

One thing I wish he'd done is to have kicked Prince Tind's royal arse all the way back to the team hotel last autumn.

Fair point there, If he'd have done that then the world cup scandal would have been avoided.
Can we finally settle an argument then.... 6 or 7?

7. No question for me.

No one ever classed him as one of the best 7's in his prime but he never seemed to come off second best when playing the so called top 7's of his era like McCaw or Smith. I used to get irritated by the so called experts saying he should be playing 6 all the time when he was doing a top job as a 7 at a time when we were hardly blessed in that position after old father time caught up on Back & Hill.

Total commitment and passion, would probably have won more caps earlier in his career when he didn't carry as many injuries if not for the Hill, Back & Daylo combination.

There were also questions over his speed but i cant understand that as he was very quick for a 7.