Leinster face losing Martin Moore as French and English clubs circle

On foot of losing Jonathan Sexton last summer, and with the futures of Seán O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip still to be resolved, Leinster also face the very real possibility of losing the services of rapidly-emerging 22-year-old tighthead Martin Moore.

The one-time Ireland Under-18, Under-19 and Under-20 prop has been enjoying a breakthrough season with the province, and has also been attracting the interest of Racing Metro (who yesterday signed Mike Phillips), Exeter and Castres.

Castres and Exeter have backed up their interest in Moore with firm offers which are reputedly in the region of €100,000 greater than the one being offered by Leinster. Now Racing have entered the race by expressing very strong interest as well.

While attention has focused on the frontline Irish players whose futures have still to be secured beyond the end of this season namely Heaslip, O’Brien, Conor Murray, Paul O’Connell, Donnacha Ryan and Rory Best – the wealthier French clubs are now targeting emerging young Irish players as well, with English clubs also re-entering the market.

The Premiership clubs’ increased financial clout, evidenced most notably by Northampton signing George North during the close-season, has been enhanced by their deal with British Telecom, and as revealed in The Irish Times, London Irish have followed up their acquisition of Tomás O’Leary and Ian Humphreys at the end of last season by signing Tom Court for the next three years.

Worrying situation
However, for Leinster to lose Moore would be an altogether more worrying benchmark. The 22-year-old product of Castleknock College, Lansdowne and the Leinster Academy has long been touted as a Leinster tighthead of the future and they had to stave off an offer from Conor O’Shea’s Harlequins a year ago in tying him down to a one-year development contract.

In the pre-season to the 2012-13 campaign, despite Leinster losing 43-0 to a full-strength Northampton, Leo Cullen was singing Moore’s praises after the tighthead emerged with credit from his duel with Soane Tonga’uiha and co. His previous five Pro12 appearances having been off the bench, this season Moore has started six of his 11 competitive games for Leinster.

His most impressive contribution was arguably in his Heineken Cup debut when hauled off the bench for an injured Mike Ross 20 minutes into their opening game away to the Ospreys. Soon after, in the pivotal moment, the Ospreys opted for a five-metre scrum from a penalty when leading 6-3, only for Moore to scrummage so powerfully against the experienced Duncan Jones that Leinster won a relieving penalty before going down to the other end and scoring the game’s only try in a crucial 19-9 win.

Natural understudy
At 5ft 11ins (1.80m) and 19st 5lbs (122kg), Moore has flourished with the new scrum regulations to emerge as the natural understudy to Ross and, in the ideal scheme of things, his long-term successor.

Leinster face losing Martin Moore as French and English clubs circle