Call off the search party — Sam Moore is alive and well, having recently been spotted in Llandarcy.
For sure, it’s been a tough few years for the youngster whose services Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland once battled over.
Injuries have hampered the 23-year-old at every turn, among them knee problems that have seen the No. 8 spend lengthy spells on the sidelines. “He has had nothing but bad luck,” Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young said last year, as Moore did all he could to put his spell with the Arms Park team into gear.
Now he’s on a similar beat at the Ospreys, having headed west to their Llandarcy base two months ago, doubtless in search of a change of fortune as much as anything else.
It really wasn’t supposed to have worked out like this.
Rewind four years ago and Jones had brought Moore into the England senior squad mix as an apprentice along with Marcus Smith and Gabriel Ibitoye.
England’s head coach said at the time: “Sam Moore is a likely lad. He reminds me a bit of New Zealand’s Kieran Read — a wide, angular runner. And he can be a good lineout forward, too. He is a good humble lad who's definitely worth a look at.”
Wales had also spoken to Cardiff-born Moore, to ask him to feature in their squad for the 2018 Six Nations, with Taulupe Faletau sidelined by injury at the time.
But fate wouldn’t play ball and injuries for Moore started arriving thick and fast.
From being the subject of a tug of war between Jones and Gatland, the player who had represented England throughout the age-grades found himself either in the casualty room or fighting to prove his game-readiness.
His mental strength was tested, but there has been the odd flash of encouragement. When he faced Harlequins in the Heineken Champions Cup with Cardiff this season, the 6ft 6in, 17st 5lb forward made regular dents in the English champions’ defensive line. There was also solidity in defence. More evidence needs to be forthcoming, m'lud, but that effort alone suggested all was far from lost for the former Everton FC academy prospect who played rugby for Waterloo RFC as a 15-year-old.
Despite all Moore’s setbacks since his teenage years, Ospreys head coach Toby Booth still sees him as a player of potential. “Yeah, 100 percent. I wouldn’t have bought him in if I didn’t,” said Booth.
“The really exciting thing about him is he has a multi-faceted game. He’s a decent line-out forward and he can bring physicality at the set-piece. Collision-wise, he probably brings more of what we want in relation to dominant ball-carries and attack-based play.
“Getting more attack-based players onto the pitch helps to foster that part of the game.
"That’s what we are excited about.” You can read more about Moore here.
And while it’s a new beginning for Moore, the Ospreys are not expecting too much too soon. “He will be available for selection next week and we’ll judge him on training, but there’s a bit more of a long-term approach with him,” said Booth. “He has a bit of a shoulder issue at the moment, but in the main he’s been fit.
“Our biggest work-on for him is to get him up to speed in mid-season, which is very difficult. It has coincided with players coming back from Wales. Jac Morgan is back, Dan Lydiate has returned from injury, so there’s a bit more competition.
“We have a lot of physical work to do with Sam, as well, in order for him to influence games.”
That said, it’s far from too late for a player who hails from a famous Welsh rugby family, with dad Steve and uncle Andy both Wales internationals.
Injuries are an occupational hazard for a rugby player and Moore junior has already had more than his fair share of bumps, but the kid Eddie Jones once likened to Kieran Read still has time to turn his situation around.
Judges as sharp-eyed as Jones and Gatland know potential when they see it.
Most in Welsh rugby will surely wish Moore well as he looks to start climbing again.
