Lewis Walton Moody
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(born 12 June 1978 in
Ascot) is an English retired
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player. He played for
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
and
Bath Rugby
Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...
and was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side.
Moody is known for the enthusiasm with which he played the game, his willingness to chase down opponents and his ability to compete for possession at restarts, which earned him the nickname "Mad Dog" from teammates and supporters.
Background
When Moody was five, he took up mini rugby at Bracknell, when a school friend suggested he join him. He played at Bracknell until the age of 12. He was educated at
Eagle House Prep School, then
Oakham School
(Like runners, they pass on the torch of life)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion = Church of England
, president ...
in
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
, where he initially played rugby union at centre before moving to full back. He later studied Business Administration at
De Montfort University
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...
while playing for Leicester Tigers.
Club career
Moody's meeting Ed Houston signalled the beginning of his rugby career. In the
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
youth team, he played
flanker. He became the youngest
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
' player to play a league game at 18 years and 94 days, a record now surpassed by
Ben Youngs
Benjamin Ryder Youngs (born 5 September 1989) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Leicester Tigers and . He made his club debut at 17 in 2007 and in 2010 made his debut for England; in 2022 he became En ...
. He soon became established as
Neil Back
Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ca ...
's understudy for the
openside flanker shirt. Making the Tigers starting XV was difficult however, as internationals
Neil Back
Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ca ...
and
Martin Corry took two of the three starting positions, with
Paul Gustard
Paul Gustard (born 2 February 1976) is a former rugby union footballer who played for Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Saracens at flanker. He was captain of rugby and educated at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle and is the son of f ...
and
Will Johnson (younger brother of
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
) fighting for the remaining place.
Moody was an unused replacement for the
2001 Heineken Cup Final
The 2001 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2000–01 Heineken Cup, the sixth season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 19 May 2001 at the Parc des Princes in Paris. The match was contested by Stade Fr ...
but started the victorious
2002 Heineken Cup Final
The 2002 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2001–02 Heineken Cup, the seventh season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 25 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff; this was the third time the ...
, and was a member of the Tigers side in the four Premiership winning seasons in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. The arrival of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
international
openside Josh Kronfeld
Joshua Adrian Kronfeld (born 20 June 1971) is a TV presenter and a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand at international level and Otago, the Highlanders and Leicester at first-class level. During his international career, K ...
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. After the World Cup success in 2003, he suffered a
stress fracture
A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running or ...
of his foot which took a long time to heal and kept him out of the remaining 2003–04 season. Moody made a return in October 2004, in the Heineken European Cup match against Calvisano.
Moody won his fifth Premiership medal in 2007, starting the final and scoring a try as Leicester defeated
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
.
He was injured for much of the 2008–2009 season, which was his Testimonial season for the club, but returned to play in the 73–3 win over Bristol, and featured in both the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
final and the
Guinness Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
win. Moody stayed fit for the entire 2009–2010 season, and even captained the side in the home fixture against Sale. The Tigers won the
2009–10 Guinness Premiership, beating Saracens 33–27 at Twickenham.
In the 2010–2011 season, he joined
Bath Rugby
Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...
on a three-year deal along with
Sam Vesty
Samuel Brook Vesty (born 26 November 1981) is an English rugby union player and coach. He played utility back (though his preferred position is full back) principally for Leicester Tigers. He has had coaching roles principally at Worcester War ...
.
Moody picked up a knee ligament injury in Bath's 55-16 win over Aironi in January 2011 but had been confident of making the England team for their opening Six Nations clash with Wales on 4 February.
Moody announced his retirement from rugby on 6 March 2012 with immediate effect due to injuries.
International career
Moody scored two tries for England Colts against Wales in April 1997, and was a member of the side that won the Madrid Sevens at the end of that season. He was later called up to the senior team for the 1998–99 "tour from hell" but did not make an appearance.
Moody made his
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
debut against
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
on 2 June 2001, when the established internationals
Neil Back
Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ca ...
and
Richard Hill were touring Australia with the
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
. 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.
Continued impressive form saw him challenge his teammate,
Neil Back
Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ca ...
, for the coveted England No.7 shirt, starting in two Six Nations games the following season. Moody displaced
Lawrence Dallaglio
Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio (born 10 August 1972), known as Lawrence Dallaglio, is an English retired rugby union player, former captain of England, and 2016 inductee of the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
He played as a flanker or number eight ...
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
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
.
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
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and RC Toulonnais, Toulon and represente ...
's winning drop goal. He missed the remaining 2003–4 season due to a foot injury. 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 teammate
Alex Tuilagi.
Having missed the
2007 Six Nations Championship
The 2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen mat ...
through injury, Moody was selected as part of the England squad for the
2007 World Cup in France. Having been named to start a warm up match against France Moody suffered a further injury and consequently was left out of the starting line up for England's first three games of the campaign. Following a disappointing start to the tournament Moody was called into the starting line up for the final pool match against Tonga, where he was lauded for England's much improved competition at the breakdown.
Moody kept his place in the starting line up for the quarter final against Australia where he 'outshone his illustrious opposite number' George Smith. Moody again started the semi final against France, and lined up against South Africa in the World Cup final on 20 October, which England narrowly lost to the southern hemisphere side.
He was picked for the
2008 Six Nations Championship
The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship.
Fifteen ...
and started in the first game against Wales but was substituted in the first half because of an
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
injury. He returned to play against the Barbarians in June 2009, but was subsequently dropped from the squad, and appeared in the England Saxons EPS for the 2009–10 Season. Club form and injuries to other opensides such as
Tom Rees saw him regain his England starting position for the Autumn Internationals against Australia, Argentina, and New Zealand. He continued this form into the
2010 Six Nations Championship
The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition be ...
.
Moody captained
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in their final
2010 Six Nations Championship
The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition be ...
match against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in Paris, replacing regular captain
Steve Borthwick
Stephen William Borthwick (born 12 October 1979) is an English rugby union coach who played lock for Bath and Saracens. At International level, he represented the senior England rugby union team between 2001 and 2010 and captained them betwe ...
, who had to pull out due to injury. He was also named England Captain for the 2010 summer tour to Australia.
Due to the knee injury he picked up in January 2011, Lewis missed the whole of the 2011 Six Nations tournament however Martin Johnson confirmed Lewis would be England captain for the
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...
in New Zealand, provided he was fit. He was selected in the 30-man squad that flew to New Zealand.
On 23 October 2011, Lewis Moody announced his retirement from international rugby.
International tries
England
British & Irish Lions
The Lewis Moody Foundation
The Lewis Moody Foundation, inspired by young rugby fan Joss Rowley Stark, raises funds to promote awareness of brain tumours in children through the award-winning HeadSmart campaign, funds vital research into brain tumour diagnosis and gives families living with critical illness days out of the ordinary to lift spirits and create special memories.
Personal life
Moody married Annie (an
interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...
er) in June 2006. The couple live in Bradford On Avon in Wiltshire and have a property development company. They have two children.
He enjoys extreme sports—although he suffers from
vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
—and his current hobbies include
wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...
, travelling and golf.
Moody is a patron and supporter of a number of charities including The Social Entrepreneurs Project, HOPEHIV, Rainbow Trust children's charity and Our Lady's Children's Hospital. In August 2012 Moody highlighted his battle with
ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and a ...
and the impact this had on his training.
In May 2014, Lewis and his wife Annie set up The Lewis Moody Foundation, inspired by Joss Rowley-Stark, to fund ground breaking research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours and gives families a day out of the ordinary to lift spirits and create special memories.
In August 2014, Moody was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' opposing
Scottish independence
Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.
S ...
in the run-up to September's
referendum on that issue.
See also
*
List of people diagnosed with ulcerative colitis
The following is a list of notable people diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
, -
, , , , American basketball player , ,
, -
, , , , English politician , ,
, -
, , , , English footballer , ,
, -
, , , , British YouTube personality , ,
, ...
References
External links
*
*
Tigers profileLewis Moody photo 1 by sportingheroes.netLewis Moody photo 2 by sportingheroes.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Lewis
1978 births
Living people
Alumni of De Montfort University
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
England international rugby union players
English rugby union players
Leicester Tigers players
Members of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Eagle House School
People educated at Oakham School
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union players from Ascot, Berkshire