Rugby-Former England captain Moody will live with criticism

Lewis Moody always put his body on the line for England and will learn to live with criticism of his captaincy from former international team mates whose confidential views on the rugby World Cup have been leaked to the media, he said on Wednesday.

Moody, who took over as captain from Steve Borthwick in 2010, retired from England duty after the World Cup, where his leaderhsip credentials were called into question as he struggled to find his best form having recovered from yet another injury.

The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) canvassed the opinions of the England squad on the World Cup campaign and among those leaked to The Times newspaper on Wednesday were several criticising the 33-year-old flanker, a World Cup winner in 2003.

However, Moody issued a statement saying: "I am confident I did the job to the absolute best of my ability but if some of the players thought that was not enough I will have to learn to live with that."

"I put my body on the line for the lads, the team and England every time I played and anyone who has watched me play knows that I give everything on the field and have always prioritised rugby ahead of everything else, including financial reward," he added.

Among the anonymous comments in the leaked reports in The Times was one saying: "We didn't really have a good captain. I think Johnno (manager Martin Johnson) liked Moody as he left the team talks to Johnno. He wasn't very good at team talks."

Moody, hugely popular with fans and team mates alike for his fearless approach, missed last season's Six Nations with a knee injury and that problem affected him throughout the World Cup.

That lead annother anonymous player to say: "If you lead by example and by putting your body on the line, surely that leadership is weakened if the team is questioning whether he is physically able to do what his mind wants him to do".

Others said Tom Wood should have been selected ahead of Moody on form.

There was also criticism of Moody for not doing enough in the wake of the infamous drinking session in Queenstown which was splashed across the British media, something the player accepted in his recently published autobiography "Mad Dog".

However, Moody said he was disappointed that confidential information had been leaked to the media.

ULTIMATE HONOUR

"Once again it is deeply disappointing to see players' feedback aimed at improving England rugby, and which we were promised would remain confidential and anonymous, being put in the public domain for political purposes.

"I have particularly seen those stories about me personally and wanted to comment. Captaining England was, and remains, the ultimate honour for me and I accepted that honour knowing all the scrutiny that came with it.

"I have always been my own fiercest critic and have already been honest that there were some things I wish I had done differently at the World Cup, but I have learnt from the experience and hope others can do the same."

"The next few months will be vital for English rugby and I hope the opportunity is seized to use player feedback for positive change not negative recriminations and political games."

If Moody framed his response carefully, there was no holding back from Damian Hopley, the CEO of the RPA.

"Our players were assured that their feedback would be totally confidential and yet no sooner has the report been sent to the Board Members than it appears in a national newspaper," he said.

"If England wants to regain its status as a respected rugby nation, it is imperative that we stop the rot at the top of the game and show some much needed integrity. What example does this set to the game? It is an absolute disgrace.

"It was the lack of faith in the system and process being confidential that saw many players shy away from completing the RFU questionnaires in the first place and, perhaps not surprisingly, their mistrust has been proven to be correct.

"We cannot ignore that once again there has been a serious breach of confidentiality. We are demanding a detailed investigation to track down the source of the leak and deal appropriately with that person."