Rookie Canan Moodie is going to draw inspiration from Frans Steyn’s maiden World Cup appearance and help the Springboks win the Webb Ellis Cup in France.
In 2007, a then 20-year-old Steyn drilled a huge penalty in the Paris final as the Boks beat England and clinched South Africa’s second World Cup crown.
Moodie, also 20, was on Tuesday named by Jacques Nienaber as one of 10 players in a 33-man Bok squad set to make their first appearance at the sport’s showpiece.
He started in the win over Argentina last weekend, scoring an impressive try from a Manie Libbok cross-kick that showcased why the fresh-faced winger is tipped as a future Test star.
Anything can happen??@mark_keohane and Zels expect a different Bok side to rock up at the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/sfFAsdBTpg
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) August 11, 2023
Moodie had a breakout 2022, earning four Test caps and has backed that up this season for the world-champion Boks and Vodacom Bulls, yet is still pinching himself that he will be boarding the plane for SA’s title defence.
Speaking with reporters after the Bok squad announcement in Randburg, the six-Test Paarl-born flyer told IOL: “My stress levels were very high on Monday, but when I saw the squad, it was a big relief.
“I kept my inclusion a secret and didn’t tell anyone. I wanted it to be a surprise for them too.
“Yes, plenty of people sent me messages asking if I had made it. I had to keep things under wraps … with my family too. It was difficult keeping the good news away from everyone.
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“But everyone is happy now, and they know that I am going. The whole family [back in Paarl] were together and watched it, I wanted it to be special for them. They were all really nervous. But I wanted them to enjoy the moment when my name was read out on TV.”
He added: “Last week, I told myself if I get the opportunity [against Argentina], I will make the most of it. And when that opportunity comes, I want to use it. If I use that, I can walk away content, even if I did not make the World Cup squad.
“I didn’t know then what the coaches’ plans were, but I just wanted to take the opportunity and give my all on the field.
“Now I’m looking forward to the World Cup, and hopefully going all the way with the Springboks and winning it. I thought back to someone like Frans Steyn [in 2007], who laid that platform by winning a World Cup at a young age. But I will take things game by game.
“There is not a single player I want to weigh myself up against at the World Cup. But I am sort of the new kid on the block, and will want to prove myself against any team that I will hopefully play against.”
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
