Stephen Moore (rugby Union)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stephen Thomas Moore (born 20 January 1983) is an Australian former
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
footballer, who played
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
for the
Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...
and
Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...
and has 129 caps for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
internationally, including 24 tests as captain. Moore is the 14th most capped player of all time, has the third most Test appearances for Australia behind
George Gregan George Musarurwa Gregan AM (born 19 April 1973) is a former rugby union player who played as scrum-half. Born in Lusaka, Zambia, Gregan represented Australia at an international level, and is Australia's second most capped player. He played S ...
and James Slipper and is the only Australian hooker to have played 100 Tests. He is also the second most capped Australian Super Rugby player of all time, and is one of only four players in Australian Rugby history, along with
Nathan Sharpe Nathan Sharpe (born 26 February 1978) is a retired professional Australian rugby union player. He began his rugby career at the Queensland Reds in 1999 before joining the newly created Western Force in 2006, where he captained the club until hi ...
, Michael Hooper and James Slipper to have achieved 100 Test and 150 Super Rugby appearances.


Early years

Born in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
to Irish parents, his father Tommy came from
Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
,
County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
and his mother Maureen came from Killasser near
Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...
,
County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
. He and his family moved to
Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
, in the mid-eighties before they emigrated to Mount Morgan,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia in 1988, when he was five years old. His family later moved to
Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...
, before finally settling in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
.


Career

Moore came up through the junior ranks in Queensland, playing schools rugby with Rockhampton Pioneers and Brisbane Grammar School prior to joining the University of Queensland Rugby Club from where he represented the Australian Under 19s. He made his Super 12 debut in 2003 for the
Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...
against the Bulls. He then went on to play for the under-21 Australian team at the 2003 and 2004 under-21 world championships, as well as with Australia A. He was included in the 2005 Wallabies squad for the mid-year Tests. He debuted with Rocky Elsom against Samoa. He came off the bench in matches against Samoa, Italy and France. He was then capped three times against South Africa. In November he joined the Wallabies in France when fellow hooker Adam Freier sustained an injury. He played in the loss against France on 5 November. After the whirlwind of 2005 where Moore made his debut for the Wallabies and featured in every Queensland Reds Super 12 game, 2006 was a mixed bag which saw him finish the season on the reserves bench. However, his skills and strength as a ball runner brought an extra dimension to the Reds forwards and earned him selection on the Wallabies end of year tour to Europe. In November 2006, Moore travelled to Europe for the Autumn Internationals series. He was used as a replacement in the Australia v Italy game (25–18) in the Stadio Flaminio, Rome. He then played for the Australia A squad that defeated Ireland A mid-week in
Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Munster Rugby and has Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park from 2013 to 2015 in the Le ...
, Limerick. He then came on as a replacement in the 54th minute of the
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
vs Australia game, in which Ireland ran out easy winners 21–6, in appalling conditions at
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...
stadium, Dublin. He made his first full International appearance for Australia the following weekend against Scotland at
Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotla ...
in Edinburgh, touching down a pass from
Matt Giteau Matthew James Giteau (born 29 September 1982) is an Australian rugby union professional player who plays for the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR). Giteau plays as a Rugby union positions#Utility players, utility back. His usual posi ...
to score his first International try. Australia were easy victors with a scoreline of Australia 44 – Scotland 15. In 2010, Moore appeared in all 13 matches for the Brumbies until breaking his jaw in the final round of regular season. Since the 2011 Tri Nations Series, Moore has been named in every squad, usually as first choice hooker. He was a key player in Australia's 2011 winning Tri Nations Series, and
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 World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...
campaign, in which Australia finished third. Since Australia's first match against France in the 2012 end-of-year rugby union tests, Moore had played every single match for the Wallabies, including starting every test in
2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-Test match (rugby union), test series against Australia national rugby union team, Austra ...
. When
Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Saitama Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans prev ...
resigned following the Lions series and when
Ewen McKenzie Ewen James Andrew McKenzie (born 21 June 1965) is an Australian professional rugby union coach and a former international rugby player. He played for Australia national rugby union team, Australia's World Cup winning team in 1991 and earned 51 ...
took over the reins, Moore started at Hooker for the Wallabies for the remainder of the 2013 Test schedule playing very well. In McKenzie's second year in charge, McKenzie named Stephen Moore as captain for the 2014 three-test June series against France, with Michael Hooper and
Adam Ashley-Cooper Adam Ashley-Cooper (born 27 March 1984) is a former Australian people, Australian rugby union player who last played for the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR). He has played in 121 matches for Australia national rugby union team, Australi ...
as vice captains. However, in his first Test as Wallabies captain, Moore picked up a season-ending ACL knee injury as he went down awkwardly when making a tackle in the second minute and he left the field in the 5th minutes of the game in the Wallabies' 50–23 win over
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
at
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
's
Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...
. On 6 July 2015, Moore was named as Wallabies' captain for the upcoming
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
under new coach
Michael Cheika Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian professional rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is head coach of Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. Cheika was the coach of the Australia r ...
. Moore subsequently lead the Wallabies to the final against New Zealand, with the final score 34–17 to New Zealand, the highest overall combined score in a Rugby World Cup final. Moore broke the record for most Super Rugby tries in a single season scored by a hooker in 2016, crossing the line seven times for the Brumbies that season, including a double in the 43–24 win against his former team the Reds. Moore also announced in late 2015 that he would return to the Reds following the 2016 season. In 2017 Moore announced that he would retire from international rugby at the end of the year and retire from Super Rugby at the end of 2018. Moore's captaincy was immediately given to Michael Hooper. He last played for Australia on 25 November 2017, in a record 53–24 defeat to Scotland. Moore was made a
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
(AM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his "significant service to rugby union, and to charitable organisations".


Personal life

Moore is married to Courtney, and has three children, Theodore, Darcy, and Lawrence.


Super Rugby statistics


References


External links

*
Wallabies profile
SA Rugby {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Stephen 1983 births Living people Australian people of Irish descent Australian expatriate rugby union players in England Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Australia national rugby union team captains Queensland Reds players ACT Brumbies players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Queensland Barbarian F.C. players Members of the Order of Australia Rugby union players from Brisbane Sportspeople from Tuam Rugby union players from County Mayo 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players University of Queensland Rugby Club players People educated at Brisbane Grammar School 21st-century Australian sportsmen