Moore reveals sexual abuse ordeal

Moore was capped 64 times by England

Former England rugby star Brian Moore has revealed he was sexually abused as a young boy by one of his teachers.

Moore, 47, said he was plagued by feelings of rejection after his mother, a single parent, gave him away for adoption when he was a baby.

The former Harlequins hooker, nicknamed 'Pitbull', said these traumas made him ferociously competitive on the field.

"If you have been abused, you feel tainted by association with the awfulness of the crime," he said.

Moore outlines his ordeal in a new autobiography, Beware of the Dog, which is being serialised by the Telegraph newspaper.

It is possible to come across as bullish, argumentative, forceful, mouthy and yet be absolutely crippled emotionally Brian Moore

Moore said the abuse began when he and three other boys, aged nine and 10, were lured into a tent and sexually abused by a teacher while on a field trip in Yorkshire.

The teacher, who has since died, continued to abuse the boys in the classroom storeroom, Moore said.

He said he was too ashamed to tell his adoptive parents, both Methodist lay preachers, because his church-going abuser was a friend of theirs.

Moore, who won 64 caps for England between 1987 and 1995 and played in three World Cups and five British and Irish Lions Tests, is a BBC rugby union pundit known for his no-nonsense opinions.

"Anyone with similar issues will understand that it is possible to come across as bullish, argumentative, forceful, mouthy and yet be absolutely crippled emotionally. It's a compensation mechanism," he said.

Of his adoption, Moore said: "You believe it is done for the best of motives because if you think about it the other way, it's so awful."

Moore, the father of two small girls and now married to his third wife, added: "But fatherhood gives you another perspective."

On retirement Moore, a qualified solicitor, also became a qualified manicurist when his wife opened a nail bar.

He now also writes a wine column alongside his work for the Telegraph and the BBC.

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