The Beacon Of Hope In An Otherwise Soul-Destroying Gloucester Loss

Gloucester may have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Leicester Tigers in Round 1 of the Aviva Premiership, but fans shouldn’t abandon all hope just yet. As Lee Calvert writes, the game revealed Ross Moriarty has got what it takes.

Watch: Gloucester vs Leicester Full Game | Condensed

The opening game of the Aviva Premiership kicked off last Friday evening at Kingsholm between Gloucester and Leicester, and it was magnificently bonkers.

Just after half time Gloucester, the perennial sleeping giant of the English game, were cruising at 31-7 and looking forward to a notable scalp to start their season. When the final whistle sounded they had lost 31-38.

Leicester gave a catch-and-drive masterclass in how to squeeze the life, hope, dreams and probably will to live out of your opposition. In the wash up, however, there will be much hope both in Gloucester and Wales at the performance of their young blindside flanker, Ross Moriarty.

Moriarty had a good start in rugby life: his dad is Paul Moriarty, the former dual code forward for Swansea, Widnes, Wales and Great Britain and finalist in the Hardest Man In The World Championship for four years running in the early 1990s. His uncle Richard also played in the back row for Wales when they reached the semifinals of the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

22-year-old Moriarty Junior was a menace against Leicester, and his performance did not deserve to have his heart splintered into a thousand pieces when the Tigers crashed over at the last. He was everywhere, powerfully carrying the ball for 34 metres and putting himself about at the breakdown, winning one turnover. He was also responsible for the moment of the match when, receiving the ball in the Dane Coles’ patented forward-out-on-the-wing position, he executed a balletic out-in step to beat his man before reverse-offloading almost around his head out of the next tackle to send his centre Matt Scott in for a try.

This display cemented the promise that was partially constructed during the  recent Wales tour of New Zealand. Moriarty was a standout performer in the series loss, one which has been given some perspective by the dismantling the All Blacks have since handed to Australia. Wales lived with NZ for all but twenty minutes of each test, which judging by the Wallabies’ recent efforts is no small achievement. The young flanker played a huge part, not only with his individual performances, but also for the change in dynamism his skillset brings.

Moriarty has replaced Dan Lydiate in the national team. Lydiate is like two players in one body: the first is a tireless muscular defender with a deadly chop tackle that was a cornerstone of Warren Gatland’s gameplan for many years; the second is a bloke who has hands like feet, and if the ball somehow sticks in his hands then has about as much idea of what to do with it as a virgin with a girl’s bra on prom night. As the recent tour and the magic moment versus Leicester demonstrated, Ross Moriarty can do the defending and has no problem with the ball in hand bit. I’ve no idea what he’s like with bras.

As a result of his versatility, both his club and national sides effectively now have an extra, muscular centre who can do the grunt work but also has plenty of craft when needed. This gives so many more options for a coach shaping a gameplan and for the men on the field when a broken attacking plan is required.

Every year the sleeping giant of Gloucester is asked if it fancies waking up – usually it rolls over and pulls the duvet back over its head. Wales have been stuck in a gameplan rut for a while. For both squads, Ross Moriarty could be the catalyst to make some changes.