Moody keen to captain country

Lewis Moody is convinced he has the credentials to captain England into the 2011 Rugby World Cup – but he is still in the dark over his future in the job.

The 32-year-old took over the leadership reins from Steve Borthwick at the end of last season and became only the second England captain to lead his country to a Test win in Australia.

Moody was inspirational as England drew the two-Test series with a dramatic 21-20 victory over the Wallabies in Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.

But Martin Johnson last week refused to confirm Moody as his captain for the forthcoming November internationals, never mind the World Cup.

The former Leicester player would relish the chance to lead England into their ferocious autumn campaign against New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and South Africa.

And asked whether he had proven himself during the tour, Moody said: “Yeah, I feel I can do it.

“I feel confident that in the three games I have captained England, I have grown in experience each time and I will keep doing that if I am given the opportunity.

“I absolutely loved the job on the summer tour. It was a new experience doing it for that period of time, through the rollercoaster of losing the first Test and winning the second Test, which was incredible.

“As it was a longer period of time you take a lot more responsibility on your shoulders and you take it more personally.

“It was certainly an experience for me, taking on all that pressure and responsibility for the team over a few weeks. If you are asked to be captain, perhaps that’s the way it should be.

“You are always learning, no matter how old you are and I enjoyed that experience as captain.

“I feel very honoured and privileged that I was given that task – in the summer and for the France game – that I could do it and that we could take a win in Australia for only the third time.

“It gave me a lot of confidence that I can do it. So if I was asked to do it again I would jump at the chance.”

Johnson is the only other England captain to have won a Test in Australia, having led his team to two victories over the Wallabies in 2003.

Moody believes he will only improve as a captain if he gets a run at it leading into the World Cup – but he can understand Johnson’s decision to sit tight on the appointment.

Johnson insisted competition was so strong in the England squad that he could not commit to naming Moody as his long-term captain.

The new Bath flanker said: “It is the way Johnno operates and rightly so. I can’t second-guess what he is going to do – he will make a decision about it when he needs to.

“You need to be performing. The guys picked in the team need to be the best players and there are genuinely a raft of guys in the squad who can do that job.”

Moody, who is among a number of big-name signings settling into the new club, made his debut for the club against Ulster at the weekend.

After 14 years at Leicester, Moody has moved to The Rec along with Sam Vesty while Bath have also recruited Scotland international Simon Taylor.

“This is certainly the biggest challenge I have had for a long time, adapting to a new environment and adapting to how this club does things,” said Moody.

“I am genuinely enjoying it. It is fantastic. The lads are great, the feedback from the coaches has been good and I just want to get out on the field and start playing some rugby.”