VIDEO: Moodie might have enjoyed Bok tour a bit too much

VIDEO: The Bulls’ Director of Rugby, Jake White, has hinted that Springbok wing Canan Moodie is not in the best shape after returning from the Boks’ end-of-year tour recently.

The Bulls scored four tries en route to their 28-14 win to bag a full house of points against Connacht in Galway on Saturday.

White made no secret about Moodie’s condition after running out at wing against Connacht on Saturday in the place of Kurt-Lee Arendse, who is on a sabbatical in Japan.

Moodie had some opportunities but couldn’t turn all of them into points, and White hinted that the Springbok should watch his diet.  Moodie only played in the first Test against Scotland and it might be that White is aggravated that he wasn’t released to the club like some other Springboks.

When asked what he thought of Moodie’s performance in Galway in the absence of Arendse, the coach did not mince his words.

“He looked at times like he had eaten too much food at the buffet while he was on tour for the last month. I said that to him. I think he is going to have to start staying away from the buffet,” White said stern-faced.

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“When he got away a couple of times, I thought he would finish but as I said, I think we will have to keep him away from the buffet for a while,” he added.

White also weighed in on the red card to Bulls No. 8 Mpilo Gumede, who found himself in hot water after he pushed David Hawkshaw in the face.

It was deemed close to the eye area, but the coach felt is was more the nose and not that serious.

Bulls No.8 Mpilo Gumede when he was red-carded in the 57th minute for a push in the face to David Hawkshaw which was deemed to be in the eye area.

“The nose is nowhere near the eye and I will say on record that I heard the TMO say there is no clear evidence that it is in the eye, it is just to the face,” White shared.

“So that is probably what will come out because it is irrelevant. He was held behind the ruck, and the TMO’s voice was that it should’ve been a penalty for lifting his leg and holding him behind the ruck.

“I must say I thought the red card was a bit harsh.

“But we have to adapt. If the communique comes out ahead of the November Tests and says this is what they are looking for, we have to be clever enough to understand there will always be a focus on that kind of incident.

“And it will always be in favour of making sure the players’ welfare comes first,” White explained.

Overall the coach was happy to come away with a win in Galway, a difficult venue due to the extreme weather conditions.

“We won the toss and wanted to play with the wind in the second half because I’ve been here before and I know how difficult it is.

“It’s a tough place to play. It’s a bit like a cricket Test match. You’ve got to set yourself up the way you want to play based on the elements that are there.

“So I am just really chuffed that we learned from all the times we’ve been here and they learned from the messages we gave them over the last weeks about what to expect,” White said.