Year of the Big Breakthrough: Lewis Moody

Lewis Moody still had dew behind his ears when he made his debut for Leicester, at Orrell, at the tender age of 18. "It was pretty terrifying,'' he recalls. "Everybody looked so huge. They thought, 'Who the hell is this young sprog?' I weighed about 13 stone at the time and was treated like a rag doll. It was much harder than I thought it would be, and it taught me a lot.''

Five years on and nobody, but nobody, treats Moody with anything but the utmost respect. At 6ft 4in and 16st 7lb he is not only a fully paid-up member of the Tigers pack but should be a key figure in England's World Cup squad in Australia next year and again in 2007.

His dynamic performances in the ultra-successful autumn Test programme against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa have identified him as a classically equipped back-row forward of the modern era. Moody was mean and magnificent until, in a typically aggressive charge out of defence against the Springboks (England used him as the ball-carrier for every restart) he suffered a muscle tear in his left shoulder. "I thought I might have been out for four months but I'll be back in three weeks,'' he says. He was replaced by Lawrence Dallaglio against South Africa, and the fact that he kept the Lion on the bench illustrates the outstanding progress that Moody has made for both club and country.

Clive Woodward, the England manager, tinkered with the back row, selecting Moody at six, Dallaglio at No 8 and Richard Hill at seven against the All Blacks, which meant demotion to the bench for Neil Back. Back, who replaced Dallaglio for the last 10 minutes, started at seven for the next game against the Wallabies, with Hill at No 8 and Moody at six, the same unit being selected for the match against South Africa until Moody's injury brought Dallaglio back into the frame.

Moody, who scored a try against the All Blacks, knew he had arrived when he featured on the cover of the England-Australia programme. It was all so very different a couple of seasons ago, when he was failing to make the cut in the Leicester back row and came close to joining Harlequins.

The London club's Wallaby flanker, David Wilson, was badly injured and Quins needed a first-class replacement. The Tigers, on the other hand, were spoilt for choice: Back, Martin Corry, Will Johnson, Paul Gustard and Adam Balding. And they had just signed Josh Kronfeld from New Zealand. "It was looking very bleak,'' Moody said. "I couldn't see where my next game was coming from.''

It came for his country, Moody winning his first cap against Canada on England's tour of North America. "I was third choice as openside flanker, but I took my opportunity. I'm just glad I didn't leave Leicester. Everything's gone so well.''

Dean Richards, the Tigers manager, had assured Moody he had a good future at Welford Road. Born in Ascot, Moody played for Bracknell Minis from the age of five and joined Leicester at 15 when he moved to Oakham School.

Up to the age of 17 he was a centre- threequarter but then Brian Welford, his school and county coach, moved him into the back row. "The first thing that struck me was how knackering it was. There's so much ground to cover.''

His timing was spot-on. The year he left school the game went professional and so did he. When Back was suspended for pushing the referee Steve Lander, Moody got his first break, rubbing shoulders with Richards and John Wells in the Tigers pack. "As a kid my dad used to take me to Welford Road, where I was one of the crowd chanting 'Deano, Deano', so getting to play alongside the legend was a bit special.''

On the bench for Leicester's first Heineken Cup triumph, over Stade Français in Paris, Moody featured in the sequel against Munster at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and had almost a worm's-eye view of the infamous Back-hander, the flanker's disruption of Peter Stringer's put-in at the final scrum in front of the Leicester posts.

"You have to be streetwise,'' Moody, now 23, said. "It's part of the game. At times you have to learn how to cheat. I enjoy playing with Backie and I have learnt a lot from him. We have different styles and I think we complement each other.

"Ideally I would like to play openside, but I enjoy playing anywhere in the back row, especially when I've got the ball in hand. That's happened a lot recently and it means I don't have to do as much work in the rucks.''

Earlier this week Moody returned to Pennyhill Park, the Red Rose headquarters near Bagshot, for a touch of England pre-Christmas bonding, a debriefing and visit to the West End to watch Chicago in extra-large seats.

"We talked about how we have improved in the last six months and how we can improve again. One disappointing aspect was the number of tries we conceded, but we beat all three southern hemisphere countries and that was the most important thing. You saw all aspects of England, and Woodward liked the way we approached the matches. It was something we should keep in mind.

"I've been a spectator at the World Cups and it's the competition I have always wanted to play in. You have to test yourself against the best.''

Moody will train with Leicester on Christmas Eve with a view to returning early in the new year. His involuntary break may be a blessing in disguise. "I want to be ready for the Heineken Cup and the Six Nations' Championship. If all goes according to plan it's going to be a very, very long season with a hell of a lot of matches. Watching Leicester from the stands has been a frustrating experience, particularly when we lost our home unbeaten record to Northampton. I just wanted to be on the pitch. I had a pint of Coke and I chewed through the glass.''

Moody has a vision. "England have reached the World Cup final and I'm at six, Backie's at seven and Richard Hill is the No 8. The way he played in the autumn just gets him the nod over Dallaglio, although it's a very hard choice.''