VIDEO: The key to Boks' blue chip back-three
Seasoned Springbok Daniel Johannes Vermeulen believes “communication” is the key to the success of the impressive South African back three – Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Willie Le Roux.
Speaking after the Boks’ 43-12 demolition of the Wallabies in the opening Round of the Rugby Championship in Pretoria this past weekend, Vermeulen described the trio as “fantastic”.
Two months out from the start of their World Cup defence, the Boks outscored the Wallabies by six tries to two – Arendse confirming his finishing class with a remarkable hat-trick at Loftus Versfeld.
The 27-year-old, who made his Bok debut a year ago, had nine carries for 81 metres and four linebreaks. He has now scored 10 tries in eight Test appearances.
Moodie, at 20 barely out of his teens, had 10 runs for 119 metres and had three linebreaks. He has featured in five Tests and his only Bok try was on his debut against Australia in September last year.
Le Roux, 33, with 84 Tests, is the ‘glue’ of the back three.
His 15 carries yielded just 46 runs, but it is his communication that really is the key to the success of the trio.
“Kurt-Lee [Arendse] and Canan [Moodie] are great finishers, but there is that mix of youth and experience that functions very well,” Vermeulen said.
“The three of them worked wonderfully well together.
“Willie [le Roux] has great communication [skills] and he talks very well with the youngsters – to get them into the right positions.
“That combination worked very well for us in this game.”
Vermeulen added that it was a great performance by Arendse on his home turf, Loftus.
“He showed his class and deserved to be Man of the Match.”
(WATCH as seasoned Springbok Daniel Johannes Vermeulen unpacks the real reason for the success of South Africa’s back three...)
The humble wing, Arendse, gave credit to his teammates for the hat-trick.
“It’s always special contributing to the team and playing in front of your home crowd while representing your country,” he said.
“We’ve grown as a team from where we were last year to where we are now.
“As a team, we’d like to continue building on that, and for me personally, I’d like to continue learning and to implement those learnings in my game.
“But I can’t take any credit for the tries.
“The forwards have been laying the foundation for us as backs to finish. It’s just great to contribute to the team.”
