Moore good news for Brumbies
Thu, 08 May 2008 08:40
The Brumbies have signed Wallaby hooker Stephen Moore for the 2009 season.
The 25-year-old joins the Brumbies from the Reds, where he made his Super Rugby debut in 2003.
Moore, who has been one of the form hookers of the 2008 Super 14, has played 20 Tests for Australia and has an existing contract with the Australian Rugby Union until the end of 2009.
Moore says he's looking forward to playing his rugby in Canberra.
"I've always enjoyed the Brumbies' style of rugby and I believe it will suit my game," he said. "There is a strong focus on player development at the Brumbies and this was a great chance to continue my progress as part of a world-class rugby program.
"I've played a fair bit of rugby with guys like Stirling Mortlock, George Smith, Guy Shepherdson, Mark Chisholm and Stephen Hoiles at Wallaby level, and having the opportunity to play regular football with them at the Brumbies was very appealing.
"There's a great culture at the Brumbies, there are a lot of world-class players throughout their playing roster as well as a number of excellent young players coming through the ranks.
"I'm really excited about joining the Brumbies next year and keen to contribute to a successful season in 2009 and beyond."
Brumbies Head Coach Laurie Fisher, who coached Moore at Australian Under-21 level, says the Rugby World Cup rake will be a valuable addition to the Brumbies' pack.
"Steve is undoubtedly one of the premier front rowers in Australia," he said. "He's worked very hard on the technical aspects of his game: he's a consistent lineout thrower, he's an excellent scrummager and he's extremely strong in contact.
"He's very mobile for a big man and at 25 he's still young for a front rower and has plenty of development left in his game."
Brumbies Rugby CEO Andrew Fagan says Moore will become another Test star in the Brumbies' Wallaby-laden forward pack.
"We're very pleased that Steve will be joining the Brumbies for 2009," he said. "We can appreciate that there was significant interest from elsewhere for a player of his calibre but we're pleased that he will continue his rugby development as part of the best rugby program in the world.
"He is currently regarded as the top hooker in the country and we take tremendous pride in the fact that we can continue to attract players of Steve's quality to our program.
"With Steve joining the likes of Guy Shepherdson, Nic Henderson, Mark Chisholm, Mitchell Chapman, George Smith and Stephen Hoiles, we're looking forward to the Brumbies boasting one of the strongest forward packs in the Super 14 competition in 2009."
Stephen Moore Factfile:
Position: Hooker
Physical: 1.86m; 112kg
Born: 20.01.1983, Saudi Arabia
Super 14 Caps: 45
Super 14 Points:
10 (2t)
Super 14 Debut: 2003 (Reds) v Bulls, Pretoria
Test Caps: 20
Test Points: 5 (1t)
Test Debut: 2005 v Samoa, Sydney
