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April 10, 2008 AUSTRALIA hooker Stephen Moore last night informed his Queensland teammates he will be quitting the Reds at the end of the Super 14 season, but where he ends up might depend on whether the Brumbies retain Laurie Fisher as coach.
Moore has told Reds coach Phil Mooney and Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) performance rugby manager Ben Whitaker that he wanted a change of environment after playing for the Reds since 2003. He then broke the news to teammates at a Government House reception for the Queensland side.
"I've spent the last couple of days talking this through with my family and my advisers and I've decided there are opportunities for me to further my rugby career elsewhere," Moore said.
"It's not that I don't think Queensland isn't turning things around. In fact, there are definitely signs of that already. It's not far off. We've seen glimpses of what's coming and now it's a matter of putting that together on a regular basis.
"There's nothing here that's forcing me out, but sometimes a change is as good as a holiday. You only get one crack at your career and I don't want to look back on mine and have regrets. So I'm backing my gut feeling and moving on."
Both the Brumbies and Western Force are waiting patiently, but Moore indicated they will have to wait a little longer, at least until he has had a chance to meet face to face with Force officials and he knows for certain who will be coaching the ACT side next season.
"It's important for me to know who's going to be coaching the Brumbies," Moore said. "I've got a good rapport with Laurie Fisher from playing under him in the Australian under-21 and Australia A sides. I rate him very highly. He's an excellent coach and my rugby has benefited any time I have played under him.
"If it's not going to be him, then that will influence my decision. I'd want to know what sort of program the new coach has in mind."
The Brumbies are in no rush to name their new coach, although ACTRU chief executive Andrew Fagan insisted on Wednesday the process was well advanced and Fisher was still very much in consideration.
Fagan dismissed suggestions that Fisher might drop out of contention if the Brumbies go down to the Blues in Auckland on Saturday night after literally handing the Chiefs a win in Canberra last weekend - along with all the ball the Waikato players stripped from them.
"We know all about Laurie's qualifications as a coach and what he's capable of," Fagan said. "So we're not going to be viewing results over the next couple of weeks in isolation. Results won't have a significant impact on the decision."
Moore's announcement effectively disqualifies him from consideration for the Reds captaincy for their next match, against the Force tomorrow week following this weekend's bye.
With skipper Sam Cordingley out for three weeks with a calf problem and Chris Latham facing at least a month on the sideline with a medial ligament injury in a knee, coach Phil Mooney has a dilemma on his hands.
"Do we go with one of our experienced leaders like John Roe (the man displaced from the captaincy a month into the season) or is this time for someone from generation next like James Horwill?" Mooney asked.
Moore started the season very much as the Reds' long-term captain-in-waiting but even before he announced his decision to leave, Mooney had effectively ruled him out of the running.
"One of the issues we had to look at was that if we are splitting the game time between Moore and Sean Hardman (another World Cup hooker), then it means you're down to your vice-captain for the last quarter of most matches," the coach said.
Mooney's nomination of Horwill might surprise those who have not been paying close attention to the Reds this season. The aggressive second-rower had started out his Super 14 career as Queensland's answer to Owen Finegan, a powerhouse player who undid much of his good work by constantly being on the wrong side of referees.
Ballymore insiders, however, continue to trumpet the chances of Quade Cooper being named as captain, not necessarily as a pointer to who will lead the side, but as part of his long-term development.
Cooper captained the Reds' second XV this year and handled the responsibility with aplomb.
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to ..........." 
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Originally Posted by slomo
