Moore thankful ahead of 150th cap

Editor

Brumbies captain Stephen Moore believes he is fortunate to be reaching his 150th Super Rugby cap this week.

The hooker will lead out the Canberra-based franchise against the Hurricanes on Friday, earning his milestone cap in the process.

Moore – who joined the Brumbies after 47 matches with the Reds in 2009 – will be just the second Australian to reach 150 caps and is now just 13 away from Nathan Sharpe. New Zealand legend Keven Mealamu currently holds the record at 175.

"I think when you start out you don’t think it’s ever going to happen," the 33-year-old told the official Brumbies website.

"I've been really lucky along the way to have relatively few injuries. I've had some really good coaches over my time that have helped me to continually improve.

"It makes me feel a bit old but it's a nice thing. My big focus this weekend is on the team's performance and obviously our first game this weekend and putting in a good performance."

Moore added that he and his charges are probably a step ahead physically of where they were this time in 2015.

"We've trained really well," added the Wallaby captain.

"Physically we're in good shape as a team, the boys who have done the full pre-season have trained incredibly hard and the guys who have come in from the Wallabies in the New Year have fitted in really well.

“We're probably ahead of where we were this time last year physically but that only gets you so far, we've got to make sure we gel as a team. I'm sure it won’t be perfect on Friday night but we want to play well, particularly in front of our home crowd."