THOUGH IRISH BLOOD runs through his veins, Stephen Moore is a familiar figure to see standing in opposition to the green pack having done so four times already in his career.
However, the dynamic this weekend could have been very different for the current Australia captain. Last year, he was close to signing a deal that would have brought him to Munster after the conclusion of this year’s Super Rugby campaign.
IRFU performance director David Nucifora denied blocking the move last December, saying the province made an offer that wasn’t accepted. So instead, Moore has re-signed with the ARU for four years and will ply his trade for the Queensland Reds next season.
Understandably, he wasn’t willing to address the road not traveled from the top of the Aviva Stadium conference room.
“Aw, mate. I’d prefer not to talk about that at the moment if that’s alright. I’d prefer to focus on the game tomorrow.”
And so he did. Moore’s focus barely wavered through his required media time, keeping his gaze firmly locked on all the little tasks that will lead up to this evening’s big November Test against Ireland (17.30, RTE).
Not that the son of a Galway and Mayo parents wasn’t forthcoming, he happily enthused about the improvements he could see happening year-on-year in the northern hemisphere, Ireland’s display in the Chicago win over New Zealand and the performance – despite defeat – of the Will Skelton-captained Australia XV against a French Barbarians side in Bordeaux on Thursday night.
The presence of that fixture on the schedule meant that Moore led a tightly trimmed squad in Dublin this week. With fewer non-playing reserves diluting the intensity and relaxing the mood, it’s little wonder Moore fell into the habit of repeating the phrase ‘ready to play’.
“The bulk of our squad were down in Bordeaux, the guys up here have trained all week and we’re ready to play.
“We always knew these two games (Ireland before the final tour match against England) would be the biggest challenges of the tour. They’re obviously the last two games, but when you get to the last stage of the tour, you’ve been training hard and played a few Test matches.
“That’s a big challenge for this young team to be able to front up tomorrow and play our best game of the tour.
“That’s something we’ve addressed all week, we’ve tried to keep our intensity as we have all tour and we’re ready to play tomorrow.”
The enthusiasm and easy intent is a mood that much better suits the Wallabies than the beaten nation that could be seen through a horrible summer run that began with a home series whitewash defeat to England and ended with Michael Cheika being mocked up as a clown on the cover of the New Zealand Herald on the morning of Bledisloe III.
Moore credits Cheika as ‘the foundation behind all the change’ and it will be intriguing to see how the ex-Leinster coach attempts to undo Ireland’s new centre partnership with the powerful combination of Reece Hodge and Tevita Kuridrani.
If the pair can make inroads, it would bode well for another step forward on a northern tour has been much kinder to the Wallabies than their experiences down south. Outside the camp at least, there is talk of a clean sweep after impressive wins over Wales, Scotland and France.
“Look, I think we haven’t talked too much about the Grand Slam much on this trip,” Moore says to issue a deft deadbat.
“Every game is so important and so tough you have to focus on that week in isolation. I think we’ve introduced probably 12 or 13 new players to the team this year alone and I think those players have really stepped up and one a really good job for us.
“We played some good rugby during the series against England, we just didn’t win any of the games. I think they played exceptionally well over the three Tests and deserved to win.
“It was a disappointing way to start the year, but I think we’ve focused hard on our preparation every week and tried to improve that every week and find a way to prepare as best as we possibly can.”
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