Will Moore, the son of former Wales second-row Andy Moore, has signed his first professional deal with Bristol Bears. The young centre has penned a senior academy contract ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
Moore is one of 13 players from Bristol's NextGen U18 title-winning squad to be offered terms by director of rugby Pat Lam. He is currently in South Africa, playing for England U18s in the 2026 International Series, having been called up earlier this year for the U18s Six Nations.
Wales still an option
Despite representing England at age-grade level, Moore has not ruled out playing for Wales at senior level. He told WalesOnline earlier this year that he had already met with Steve Tandy.
The young centre, raised in Swansea, initially came through the Ospreys academy before moving to Clifton College, which brought him onto Bristol's books. He said: "I saw it as an ideal opportunity with it only being an hour and a half from home. You hear about how good English schoolboy rugby is and I would agree it does live up to that. I'm studying maths, chemistry and PE for my A levels at Clifton and I'm also part of the senior Bristol Bears academy."
Moore added: "I had a few Wales U18s non capped appearances but I missed out on the Six Nations period last year with my shoulder. But now is probably the perfect time to try it out. It's no fault of Wales because Richie Pugh (WRU pathway coach) and all the boys were brilliant with me but personally I am eligible to play for England. So, I thought there'd be no harm in giving England a try because at this age it doesn't tie me down to anyone."
Senior training experience
Moore revealed he has already trained briefly with the senior team at Bristol, rubbing shoulders with Louis Rees-Zammit and Ellis Genge. He said: "It's pretty cool thinking in a couple of years time I could potentially be playing with Louis Rees-Zammit and Ellis Genge. It's just really exciting and I can't wait to get into it. The first day I had with the seniors was the most open environment I've ever been to. Everyone is just talking and shaking each others hands."
He continued: "It's an environment where everyone can be themselves. Over the next couple of years I want to keep improving and hopefully sink into that Bears senior environment and hopefully get a senior appearance."
Lam's excitement
Pat Lam confirmed his senior and academy squad for the season, saying: "Next season's squad of 38 senior players and 30 senior academy players is an exciting blend of experienced PREM performers, established internationals and young, hungry players with huge potential, strengthened further by the arrivals of Ethan Staddon, Sol Moody, Khalik Kareem, Tobi Wilson, Louie Sinclair, and the return of Josh Caulfield and Oscar Lennon."
Lam added: "With more than 2,000 senior appearances and 15 capped internationals across the squad, there is real experience, leadership and quality throughout the group. We've worked hard to build a squad with the cohesion, depth and competition needed to compete consistently across a demanding PREM season and put ourselves firmly in the mix for the play-offs. One of the biggest positives for us is to see our pathway produce high-quality young players. The opportunity to offer professional terms to 13 players from our title-winning Under-18s side is hugely exciting."
