Knee injury rules Lewis Moody out of Rugby World Cup opener - Rugby News
An old knee injury has ruled England’s skipper, Lewis Moody, out from their Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina. England will now start their RWC campaign with out their captain on September 10 in Dunedin. This was confirmed by Martin Johnson as he
told the media on September 5 that Lewis Moody, who sustained a severe blow during a RWC warm-up match against Wales on August 5, has failed to recover.
Moody had missed the rest of warm-up matches due to the same reason and was expected to overcome the muscle injury before the start of the event. Moody has been suffering from the knee injury for a while and has not spent a reasonable time in the field during
the current year and has played just over one hour game during the whole year.
Moody was given charge of the English side due to his past record with the squad as he is one of the most experienced players on the team. Moody made his International debut for England in 2001 and has won 66 test caps for his team. The flanker has earned
45 points for his national side during these outgoings.
He captained the English side earlier in 2010 during Six Nations Championship as well. He replaced the then skipper, Steve Borthwick, who was left out due to an injury and continued with the job until the Australian tour.
Revealing the absence of Moody from their RWC inaugural clash, Johnson said that he is fully fit to play the match. Johnson added that, “He has been running around today so he is not a million miles away. It is just one of those calls, 'are you ready to
participate fully this week and play a Test match this Saturday?' Not quite. It was quite a simple decision to hold him back another week,”
However, Martin Johnson is sure that Moody will be 100% fit for their next clash of the Rugby World Cup 2011, which will be played against Georgia on September 18, in Dunedin.
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