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What ex-Kiwi players thought of Springboks debutant Moodie

Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

19-year-old Canan Moodie made his springbok debut over the weekend in a crucial test match for the South Africans.

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The young flier is the eighth player to occupy the right wing this year. Coach Jacques Nienabar has been forced to test his stocks in the position after another injury to star player Cheslin Kolbe, who suffered a fractured jaw in the July series against Wales.

Following the match, there was much buzz around the winger’s game, in particular his try in which he showed high ball skills and pace to retrieve a contestable kick from Jaden Hendrikse and run 40 meters to score in the corner.

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Ex-Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall shared his thoughts on Moodie’s performance during this week’s episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod:

“His biggest strength is that he’s a tall athlete,” Hall said.

“For him to be able to score that try, which I thought was a very pivotal moment in that test match, being able to get up for the ball – and the South Africans went back to that (kicking game), having 31 kicks, being able to have that pressure of the game and build momentum through their kicking.

“He’s also got a bit of speed about him and he’s also got a bit of footwork.

“Any time you can have a debut where you can influence the game and like I said that was a pretty crucial moment, being able to get over Koroibete, from that kick off Hendrikse, it was pretty massive in the test match.”

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Moodie’s talent is clear but better yet is the way his skillset works within the Springbok system.

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Hall’s co-panellist and ex-Blues hooker James Parsons expanded on the Springboks win and Moodie’s role in it:

“A lot of guys got opportunities, there was a lot of changes,” Parsons said. “But they went back to what they know. We talk about the All Blacks kicking game and the way it manipulated defence, and they (South Africa) were exceptional in that.

“Moodie, the young winger, his try was pretty exceptional.”

The podcast’s stand-in host, Jeff McTainsh, also added to the praise.

“There seems to be a factory in South African rugby for producing good wingers, good outside backs, one just shows up every year on the international scene,” McTainsh said. “19 years of age, he’s a bit of a freak.”

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Bryn Hall agreed: “He is, mate, 19 years of age, I can only imagine what I was doing at 19, I wouldn’t have been ready for international rugby, that’s for sure. Let alone premiership rugby in Auckland at that time.

“Just shows the kind of a freak he is and I think even Jake White said in media interviews that he sees him as a centurion, as a 100-cap Springbok.”

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Tom 5 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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