Daily Mail

Moriarty charting collision course for Lions

- By Will Kelleher @willgkelle­her

EYES closed, trying to ignore the knot in his stomach, straining to hear every word on his mobile phone from British & Irish Lions tour manager John Spencer last Wednesday, he sat in a restaurant with his girlfriend — brunch on hold.

‘Joe Marler, Harlequins and England,’ Spencer announced, pausing for dramatic effect between each Lion selected to tour New Zealand.

‘Jack McGrath, Leinster and Ireland.’ 31 named now, how many more? And then: ‘Ross Moriarty, Gloucester and Wales.’

‘“Ross” came out and when he started saying my second name, obviously it was happy days!’ says Moriarty of the moment his dream became reality.

‘I was over the moon — there are so many quality players who have been on Lions tours before, so to be named with those is huge.’

Probably the most surprising Lions selection made by Warren Gatland, the Gloucester flanker with the famous surname had now achieved something neither his father Paul nor uncle Richard managed.

When viewed rationally, it was not so much of a shock. A missile in defence, aggressive in the carry and technicall­y excellent at the breakdown, Moriarty fits the Gatland mould.

He may be softly spoken off the pitch, but when the whistle blows he is transforme­d. Gatland has hired his hitman.

‘As soon as I cross the line, that is when I am no longer your friend,’ Moriarty explains.

‘Before the game I will speak to you and have plenty of respect, but it is different when you cross the line.

‘I definitely express myself in a physical way. That is what I have always enjoyed doing. I am not an aggressive person off the pitch.

‘Coming out on top of anyone is a good feeling. It is definitely a big knock to me if I am not winning collisions. That’s what I do, I have to win collisions as a back-rower. It is a big part of my game.’

So is it a case of becoming another character?

‘Kind of,’ says Moriarty. ‘I am not trying to be someone I am not. My father played rugby league which was a tough sport back in the day.

‘He talks about the respect off the pitch and then when you get on the pitch you beat the c**p out of each other.’

Ross’s father Paul was an internatio­nal with Wales in both codes — 21 union caps, 13 in league and two for Great Britain. Uncle Richard had 22 union caps including eight as captain. The burden of his surname took a while to lift. ‘From a young age, fathers knew the family name and it was “if you can get one up on him…blah blah”. It was pretty pathetic but that is the way some people are,’ adds the 23-year-old, who admits moving from Wales at 16 may have been the best decision he made.

‘To be able to move to a place where no-one cares who you are or knows anything about you, it was nice. I got a fresh start and that is what I needed.’

Just six years ago he arrived at Hartpury College near Gloucester as a full-back — he had never been a forward — but after a year in the third and second teams, he moved to the pack. AT

THAT point, by his own admission he ‘wasn’t the best player’ but he grew a few inches, added some weight and thrived. He had found his home in the heart of battle.

‘I needed to leave home and be out of my comfort zone,’ says the Gloucester man who plays Bath in the West Country derby at the Rec tomorrow.

‘Moving to the forwards was an easy switch, you have got to have the right attitude, the right characteri­stics to do what I like to do. It came naturally to me.’

Another easy switch was his internatio­nal allegiance. Moriarty has won two Under 20 World Cups for England, alongside Jack Nowell, Anthony Watson and Maro Itoje. Now all will be Lions.

But when Gatland came calling before the 2015 World Cup, he could never reject the land of his father. ‘To get the call from Wales was a big deal,’ he says. ‘I could never turn down the country I grew up in for 16 years.’

In February, he starred against England in the Six Nations. Moriarty may have been on the losing side in Cardiff but in an hour he laid down a marker — ferociousl­y flattening those in white. One hit left Owen Farrell dry-retching.

‘That was probably the best 60 minutes I’ve ever had,’ he reflects. ‘I’d been looking forward to that game for a long time. I knew if I put a performanc­e in and was able to replicate that in every game I would have every chance of going on the Lions tour.

‘I did feel my performanc­es over the Six Nations were up there with the best back-row performanc­es in the tournament.’

On Monday, Moriarty saw his father for the first time since his selection. Paul, not one for grand displays of emotion away from the field, gave his son ‘a big hug and said well done’.

That meant a lot, admits Ross, adding: ‘Being born into a family that has a lot of rugby history is always going to be difficult for any person in the game. Being picked was a big occasion, a big day.’

There will be more of those to come.

 ?? REUTERS ?? Hitman: Moriarty is out to make his mark in New Zealand
REUTERS Hitman: Moriarty is out to make his mark in New Zealand
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