Brian MOORE

One accusation occasionally levelled at England players has been that they lack the same passion or commitment to the cause as their Southern Hemisphere or Celtic counterparts. No-one could ever say that of Brian Moore, England's tenacious hooker of the 80s and 90s. Through eight years of unstinting service, Moore wore his heart on his sleeve and would probably have crawled over broken glass to earn England a victory. Even as a sixteen year old playing for his local club side, Brian showed an almost unnerving sense of purpose as he drove on teammates who were often twice his age. Though not as physically imposing as some hookers, Brian compensated through sheer skill, and was arguably technically superior even than his famous predecessors Peter Wheeler and John Pullin.

This fact is often forgotten, especially since Brian's nickname, afforded to him by Wade Dooley, was "Pitbull", incorrectly suggesting that he was more brawn than brain. Brian's call up came against Scotland in the 1987 season after Graham Dawe was suspended following a vicious encounter at Cardiff Arms Park. He went on to feature in the first of three consecutive World Cups that summer, although the tournament in Australia probably represented England's lowest ebb as they crashed out to Wales in the last eight. Under Will Carling's leadership, the following two seasons saw a vast improvement in performances, and Brian became the heart of a world class pack. That same pack formed the heart of the '89 British Lions team, though Brian's front row colleagues were actually the Celts David Sole and David Young. Following a heavy defeat in the first test, the Lions hit back hard to win the next two, and Brian was more than a match for his opposite number, the giant Tom Lawton, a man whose career was effectively ended after that series. (Jon Collins)

The picture above was taken by George Herringshaw on 2nd. November 1991.  ©

Ever since he had first lined up against the Scots at Twickenham in 1987, Brian Moore had developed a healthy dislike of the men from the north of the border. Therefore, it was a tremendous blow for Moore to lose to the Auld Enemy in the 1990 Grand Slam decider at Murrayfield. Brian respected the Scots enormously for their passionate approach, however, and vowed to meet fire with fire when they met in the future. He had two opportunities the following year - in the Five Nations return which England won 21-12 on their way to the Grand Slam, and then an emotionally charged World Cup semi-final at Murrayfield where England were again triumphant 9-6. Before that game with the Scots, there had been the quarter-final to contend with. England had also been required to play away from home, this time against France in Paris. Brian, who would go on to play in all of the major venues in world rugby in the course of his career, reckoned that the Stade Colombes was the most intimidating: "The French were were pysched up beyond belief. All I can remember now is the whistle going and the whole place going crazy. It was 80 minutes of sheer guts that brought us through."

However, England's defeat by Australia in the final (the photo above shows Brian in the background as Nick Farr-Jones gets a pass away under the challenge of Micky Skinner) was another huge disappointment for Brian, who pointed the finger at both his opponents and his teammates. Firstly, he was incensed at what he saw as a deliberate knock on by David Campese in the second-half which denied Rory Underwood a try, particularly after Campo had been preaching all week about the 'beautiful game'. Moore railed; "Campese sets himself up as the saviour of rugby. Yet when it comes down to it he's as cynical as anyone." Brian also slammed his team's decision to persist with a running game even when it was clear that England's pack was well on top. He was particularly critical of Will Carling's decision to eschew a certain three points in front of the posts when the score was 12-6. Fortunately, Brian was able to clear the bile out of his system by winning another Grand Slam in 1992. He even showed some running skills of his own by combining brilliantly with Dewi Morris to allow the scrum-half to score against Ireland. England then had fun against 13 man France in Paris before shutting out Wales 24-0 en route to the victory podium. (Jon Collins)

In 1993 England's ageing side produced their worst Five Nations showing since 1988 and could only finish mid-table. However, many of those same players toured with the British Lions in New Zealand and very nearly pulled off a marvellous series victory. After sitting out the first test, Brian combined with Jason Leonard and Nick Popplewell to destroy the All Black pack in the second test and he completely overshadowed Sean Fitzpatrick. Sadly, the third test was lost 30-12 and with it the rubber.

The following year Moore won his 50th cap against Wales at Twickenham, although despite totally dominating the match, England were unable to rack up enough points to secure the Championship. Then, in 1995, Brian won his third Grand Slam in four years as a somewhat conservative England side dominated the European showpiece. On the back of this triumph, the mood in the camp was positive as England headed to South Africa for the World Cup, particularly following their fine showing against the hosts in 1994.

England struggled in the group stages, but got it right against Western Samoa where, due to injuries, England's fans were treated to the bizarre sight of Brian playing as openside flanker alongside Kyran Bracken at blindside! In the quarter-finals Brian was then able to take sweet revenge on England's old tormentor David Campese as the Aussies were dispatched 25-22. Unfortunately, celebrations were short lived, the semi-final being lost to the all round power and ruthlessness of New Zealand. Brian's 64th and final game in a white shirt came in the third/fourth play off against France, a lamentable performance by England which ended in a 19-9 defeat. Brian ended his career as England's most capped forward, and in retirement gave up his job as a solicitor to become a pundit and entrepreneur. (Jon Collins)