Prop Moody rues roasting hot start to new Super season
‘‘I thought it was a winter sport.’’
Crusaders prop Joe Moody said what everyone has been thinking after Super Rugby’s January 31 kickoff.
Moody was spared from the summer heat in Nelson during his team’s season-opener last weekend, but the mercury has pushed beyond 30degC in Christchurch enough times during training sessions to get under his skin.
Indeed, spare a thought for the big bruisers slogging it out in closequarters during Super Rugby’s earliest start to a campaign.
Fresh off the first of two All Blacks rest weeks, the 31-year-old will start at loosehead prop against the Chiefs in Hamilton tonight.
While it’s not expected to be a stinking hot day in the city, the forecast high is 26degC – more than warm enough for a loosehead prop and his sweaty job description.
‘‘It’s just niggly and pretty tough having to get out there in this kind of heat for training and everything. Playing games in this sort of heat, as well, is not the nicest.’’
Moody’s remarks follow Brumbies coach Dan McKellar’s last weekend, when he described the January start to the competition as ‘‘dangerous’’ and called for Sanzaar to push back the 2021 kickoff.
McKellar made the call after the temperature was a whopping 39degC in Canberra at kickoff for the Brumbies’ season opener against the Reds last Friday night.
‘‘We talk about player welfare, we’ve got big men having to run around and they’re in good condition but I’m hoping round one next year is not anywhere near January 31,’’ McKellar said.
More than three months since his last game – the third-fourth playoff against Wales at the Rugby World Cup – Moody should at least benefit from what he called one of his best off-seasons.
The veteran hasn’t shed weight or bulked up, but feels his offseason conditioning programme should ensure he won’t have any issues getting around the track in what’s expected to be a belter of a New Zealand derby.
‘‘But at the same time it’s always different once you come back on the field, it takes a bit to get that match fitness back, there’s not really any substitute. As much running as you do, it’s always different once you get back on the field.
‘‘The first couple of weeks are always hard, both on the body in terms of getting bumps and bruises and on the lungs and legs as well.’’
All Blacks return-to-play protocol means Moody should not expect to play more than 40 minutes before coach Scott Robertson hooks him at FMG Stadium Waikato and lets George Bower loose.
‘‘Knowing it could be a bit of a shorter shift for me is somewhat of a relief, I guess,’’ Moody said.
The knee injury to Chiefs tighthead Nepo Laulala, which is expected to sideline him for six weeks, hasn’t just dented the home side’s pack, it’s also denied Moody the chance to scrummage against his good friend.
The pair became best mates when playing together at the Crusaders. Laulala, who moved north in 2016, said Moody ‘‘talks the most s... out of all of them [Crusaders]’’ ahead of a 2017 matchup.
‘‘[There’s a] Bit of a disappointment for him . . . it’s a bit of a bugger I won’t be able to lock horns with the old mate,’’ Moody said this week.
Chiefs tighthead Angus Ta’avao (knee) will also miss the game, meaning Atu Moli will line up opposite Moody.
‘‘It’s [scrum] always going to be a place we try and assert a bit of dominance, but it makes no difference who they put in front of us.’’