VIDEO: This was not Moodie's first rodeo
In a position where greats like Danie Gerber graced the Springbok jersey, South Africa may have blooded a new star.
At 20 and in just his eighth appearance on the international stage, Canan Moodie looked as accomplished as his far more senior foe – the 26-year-old, 62-times-capped All Black Rieko Ioane.
In the euphoria of South Africa’s record (35-7) win over New Zealand at Twickenham last Friday, the performance of Moodie against the highly-rated Ioane was blurred into the background.
However, his rousing performance stirred enough emotions to make some pundits sit up and take note.
While the World Cup warm-up encounter with New Zealand at Twickenham was his first Test start at No.13, Nienaber again pointed out that Moodie often played at outside centre – not just at school level, but even as he progressed through the Bulls’ ranks.
Moodie’s showing, in which he beat a few defenders, was something that did not bowl over the Bok coach.
“Rieko Ioane went the same route,” Nienaber said, adding: “He started at wing and moved to No.13
“It is not a new position,” the coach said about Moodie’s performance in the midfield..
“At training, he runs there [outside centre] a lot for us.
“With the quality of the player that opposed him, he had a really solid performance.
“We always had Lukhanyo [Am] and Jessie [Kriel] as our two [options at] No.13.
“We could move Damian de Allende out to No.13 as our third choice.
“However, with Lukhanyo’s injury, we needed a back-up at No.13 and he was always someone we had earmarked for it.
“We wanted to trial him [at outside centre] on the end-of-year tour, but unfortunately he picked up a hamstring injury and we couldn’t test him then.”
(WATCH as Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber unpacks why playing Canan Moodie at outside centre against Rieko Ioane was not as big a risk as most people felt…)
Moodie’s performance was one of the coups de grâce in what was otherwise a devastating display Springbok power.
His previous international appearances were all on the wing, and he has played fullback at senior level for the Bulls.
It is in the Under-19 and Under-21 domestic competitions where he mostly featured at centre after school – where No.13 was the jersey he wore most often.
In fact, his Instagram handle is moodie_c13.
Despite his impressive ‘debut’ as a Bok centre, he remained humble and grounded -giving credit to his teammates.
“It’s special coming out against the All Blacks in front of a packed Twickenham Stadium, very special occasion,” Moodie said in his post-match reaction.
“The pack made my job easier, to be honest.”
Asked about his first Test appearance at No.13, Moodie said: “I knew what I had to do and stay composed and we got a great result.”
Despite having played all of his junior years at outside centre, he still tapped into the experience of some senior Springboks.
“Centre is where I played most of my career,” he said.
“I won’t say it was easy but I was well prepped during the week by the coaches, and guys like Jesse [Kriel] and Lukhanyo [Am].
“They were always helping me out, I could ask questions.
“That made it much easier for me to slot in.
“As I said, if it wasn’t for the pack. They made my job easier,” he added.
With the warm-ups behind them and less than two weeks to go to the start of the World Cup, South Africa’s attention now shifts to their opening match against Scotland in Marseille, on September 10.
“We had a good win against Wales and a good win against the All Blacks,” Moodie said, adding: “We take a lot of confidence out of that.
“We still have a lot of work to do before we meet Scotland.
“That is a #BIG game for us.
“We have to stay composed and know what to do against Scotland.”
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