Moore sings praises of local coaches

BRIAN MOORE has paid tribute to the work being done in Guernsey to nurture the sport in which he was a star. The former England and British Lions hooker cum BBC commentator was in the island yesterday as the special guest of RBS which is sponsoring the three-day junior training camp being run by the Guernsey Mini/Youth Rugby Club.

He admitted that when he was a boy there were no opportunities to attend coaching sessions such as the one currently taking place at Foote's Lane although they are needed now more than ever.

'My school played rugby but as there is less sport played in schools these days, fewer schools play rugby and these sort of initiatives are very important, especially in communities like Guernsey where you cannot just cross the county border to play different teams.

'The people involved have to be more dedicated as a result and you can see here there are a lot of coaches prepared to put in the time and effort, which is great,' Moore said.

In an illustrious career, he won 64 England caps and six for the Lions and played in a World Cup final as well as winning Grand Slams. Moore believes some from Guernsey could follow in those footsteps in the future.

'There is no reason why you should not produce professional players. The important thing is that the talented ones are identified and are in a system where they can progress,' he said.

'It is quite right that you ensure everyone is given the chance to play the sport, but you cannot do that to the detriment of the people who have more talent.

'You need to be able to further their game and to get them specialist coaching while, as a whole, keeping everyone interested so that you get the whole team to turn out. It is a difficult balance to strike really.'

Focusing on the current England situation with Andy Robinson replacing Sir Clive Woodward at the helm, Moore acknowledged that it was a transitional time and supporters should be prepared for England losing a few games over the next 18 months.

'We will now see if the system put in place by Sir Clive Woodward can stand the test of time.

'Undoubtedly, there is talent there and it is a case of trying to push it through as seamlessly as possible,' he said.

'It is a transitional period and since the World Cup England have lost over 400 caps worth of experience through retirements and have had injuries as well.

'The press and the public are quick to jump on people when they start losing but Andy Robinson has rightly set the 2007 World Cup as his target and I hope he does not lose sight of that.'