Brian Moore

United Kingdom

Host at Brian Moore's Full Contact Rugby

'Rage, rage against the dying of the light.' My views, language not for kids. RTs are not endorsements.

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Articles

Our experts on who will win and why

2 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Gavin Mairs |Brian Moore |Daniel Schofield |Charlie Morgan

Leicester simply will not care about any of that. Indeed, they will relish the notion of Bath as favourites. Tigers, themselves motivated by farewells, have the individuals to hang tough in the crucial aspects of a one-off contest: the gain-line, the set-piece, the aerial exchanges and the breakdown. Everywhere you look, from Freddie Steward to Montoya via Ollie Chessum, they have warriors. Adam Radwan offers try-scoring X-factor, too. We have a special decider in store.
My retirement warning to Care, Youngs, Cole, Brown and Goode

3 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

For more than two decades these players will have thought of themselves, principally, as rugby players and not just because it was their profession. I would bet much that even before they made it to the professional grade they thought of themselves as such. What they now have to accommodate is a different identity and one through which they can find ongoing fulfilment. They have had extraordinary experiences but must now find a new way forward.
Let your rugby do the talking

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

Pollock, and every young player today, is encouraged to display overt individuality for the good of the sport, but they are left alone to deal with any negative consequences. Hopefully, he will have a decade-long career at rugby's highest levels, however during that time it is almost certain he will encounter injuries and losses of form. The conundrum for him is how to walk the tall-poppy-syndrome tightrope.
Dangerous new shoes, unbearable snorers and shadowing my rival

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

I am looking forward to seeing if Farrell makes use of music in his team building. During the initial meetings of the 1989 and 1993 Lions squads, we had to learn a medley of four songs, each synonymous with the four home countries, and we would sing that on multiple occasions: before meetings, at official functions and on the team bus. Graham Henry's 2001 Lions used drums, tambourines and maracas to get the players to bond.
The eight players I have added to my British and Irish Lions squad

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

That leaves Fin Smith, Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley and Marcus Smith fighting for the remaining two fly-half places. Fin Smith's club, Northampton Saints, recorded an unlikely but worthy win away against Prendergast's Leinster. This was wrongly billed as a showdown for the Lions' Test jersey and although Fin Smith edged the contest and Prendergast's defence was criticised, nothing was definitive.
The eight players I have added to my British and Irish Lions squad

1 month ago | aol.co.uk | Brian Moore

The final composition of Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia is likely to come down to his view of several principles of conventional selection wisdom. Whatever the final shake-out, there are a number of players whose fortunes are indelibly tied to the form of their teams in the recent Six Nations. This is likely to be a factor in marginal decisions and not good for the Welsh, and to a lesser extent, some of the Scottish players.
I do not like rugby's franchise plan but it could be only hope

2 months ago | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

It should be noted that these proposals are backed by CVC Capital Partners, the private equity group that owns 27 per cent of the Premiership. You might suspect that CVC is the driving force behind all this, but every club owner has backed the initiative, and they are the ones who are forking out to cover current losses. It is easy to criticise if you are not on the hook financially. RFU prepared to threaten stability of gameThere are genuine concerns about whether this system will succeed.
Forget boardroom bonuses, RFU must wake up to amateur rugby's money drain

2 months ago | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

Has this worked? No, it has not. The same complaints are still ringing loudly at lower levels as they were in the two decades before the RFU made the revised payment regulations. If those changes had worked, I would not still be hearing these objections. The higher echelons of the RFU do not want to revisit this subject but dismissing it is a mistake. Each time a club finds a sugar-daddy investor to pay players it causes resentment because rivals have to struggle to just stay still.
Embarrassing Champions Cup results prove rugby has to clean up calendar mess

2 months ago | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

I am afraid that this all takes us back to the thorny subject of the structure of the season, complicated by the fact that the South Africans are playing while their international side are on a different hemisphere's timetable. It is less than ideal that the European and domestic league and cup tournaments are strung out across the season and shoehorned around the autumn international tournament and Six Nations competition.
Steve Borthwick is here to stay

Mar 17, 2025 | telegraph.co.uk | Brian Moore

England's scrummaging has improved and that includes the crucial point of maintaining their performance when their front five are substituted. Fin Baxter and Joe Heyes deserve as much credit as the starting props, Ellis Genge and Will Stuart. The latter pair will now almost certainly be on the plane to Australia this summer. Another conspicuous success over the contests has been their back row.