Boks depart for Oz: Canan Moodie has chance to impress on Australian tour

Exciting young outside back Canan Moodie will have a great chance to impress the Springbok management on his maiden tour with the national team as they prepare to take on Australia in two Rugby Championship games in the coming weeks.

The 19-year-old Bulls starlet was a surprise pick to replace fellow Bulls team mate Kurt-Lee Arendse in the Bok squad after he was suspended for four weeks, ahead of the second All Blacks Test, and was then one of just two specialist wings in the named squad for the tour Down Under.

The Bok squad depart for Australia on Thursday, with their matches scheduled for next Saturday, 27 August and 3 September.

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With Makazole Mapimpi on the left, Moodie may be given a chance on the right wing, should the Boks decide not to keep using their utility backs, with Jesse Kriel having filled the role against the All Blacks, before he was concussed early in the match last weekend.

During a press conference in the build up to that All Blacks Test, Bok coach Jacques Nienaber admitted Moodie had been a player of interest for them.

However, it will come as a big disappointment for Sharks outside back Aphelele Fassi, who was dropped from the squad after the Welsh series and has now seen Moodie jump ahead of him.

‘On our radar’

“As a coaching group we scan and do road maps on about 70 to 80 players and he’s been on our radar for quite some time, like Kurt-Lee and the younger guys we have in our mix now,” explained Nienaber, about the selection of Moodie.

“In terms of Aphelele, we know what we have in him. He’s been exposed to this environment before and was with us the whole year last year in the various bubbles. So he has a very good idea of how we operate.

“For Canan this is the first time that he will be in our environment, so for him it’s just to learn, enjoy the experience and impress us as much as he can.”

Nienaber continued: “He must understand our environment and how we do things in terms of our preparation. He must get to know the players, get to know and understand the coaches and then he must impress us on the field and use his opportunity.

“We really like what we see in him and what he produced at the Bulls. Between him and Kurt-Lee they had a great understanding at the Bulls.

“I thought he was brilliant for the Bulls when they beat Leinster in Leinster and then in the final against the Stormers as well, so he is here because he has really performed.”