Ian Moir
Pride Of The League
In 1925 Claude Corbett tagged South Sydney as the ‘Pride of the league’. South Sydney earned this moniker because of their style of play. Sweeping backline movements excited the crowd then kept the turnstiles moving. The natural consequence of the above mentioned movements was that the wingers for Souths would subsequently score tries, many of them.
Naturally Souths have had large numbers of champion wingers. We have one now, Alex Johnston is closing in on the all time record for tries scored. Another champion winger, the darling of the Sydney crowds, was one Ian Moir.
Athletic Champion
Ian was born in 1932 in Port Kembla. He started playing rugby league at school but was never a speedster. On weekends Ian would be playing half back. By a strange quirk of fate, Moir was promoted to first grade one week and placed on the wing.
A local athletic coach, Ron Sweeny, not surprisingly noticed some talent in the young boy. He took him under his wing and with training found he had an athletic champion on his books. One day he took him to a local beach. On the beach, on sand, Moir clocked 100 yards in just over 10 seconds. Disappointingly for Ron, Ian chose rugby league.
Choosing South Sydney
Ian’s big chance came when he was selected in the Country side against City. City scouts were always on the lookout for new talent and Moir was one who grabbed their attention. Offers came from four Sydney clubs. Moir decided on South Sydney because he had always followed the team as well as idolising Churchill and Rayner. This was despite Souths offer being not as lucrative, financially, as the other clubs.
A Slow Start
Souths were sure they had a champion on their books. Unfortunately in his first game Manly winger Jack Lumsden, outplayed him. What unnerved Ian the most was the towering stands and the frightening roar of the huge crowds. However, it did not take long for Ian to find his feet. In fact he was selected to play for Sydney against Country and scored four tries. Following this performance, he was selected for N.S.W. where he scored one try before going off injured.
1953 Season
A big change came over Moir for the 1953 season. Ian spent the off season working as a plumber and doing special exercises to repair an old injury. He came into the season with renewed vigor. Although Souths as a team did not start the season with a lot of success, by the time Moir had scored two tries against Saints he was being hailed as the greatest winger since Wearing. Moir had arrived.
He was yards faster then any other winger in Sydney. Tackling was not a problem. Halves and five-eights were put to shame with his sidestep. Souths won the premiership, beating Saints and Moir scored three tries. However, even he would defer to Churchill who was the genius who made most of these tries possible.
Rep Player
1954 saw Ian debut for Australia. In 1956 Australia toured England and Moir was a member of that party. During that time he was top try scorer with 13 tries. He also represented Australia in the World Cup of 1957. Interestingly enough, that same year he scored five tries in one game for Souths. Success at a club level continued to come. In both the 1954 and 1955 seasons he was a member of Souths premiership winning teams.
Post South Sydney
Moir left Souths in 1959 and played for Western Suburbs in seasons 1959 and 1960. This great player died in 1990. He will be remembered as one of the many brilliant wingers the Pride of the League have produced over its history and which continues to this day. Ian Moir certainly deserves a coveted place in Bunnies TVs ‘Remembering a Rabbito’.
Ian Moir
By Mark Emery for Bunnies TV.
Add comment