— Cape Town Jake White, the coach of the Bulls, will ensure that Canan Moodie’s selection to the Springboks after a single season of premier rugby has not gone to his head.
In fairness to the Paarl native, who just scored a try on his Bok debut against the Wallabies in Sydney, he spoke earlier this week about maintaining and enhancing his performance standards.
People will look at me today, as I was the new kid on the block a year ago. Now that it is the second year, I have played for the Springboks. But it will bring out the best in me, as staying at the top is much more challenging. I want to prove myself every week,” Moodie added.
“Being a young man, I have much to learn. Therefore, I absorb all the technical information in order to become the best player possible.
And prior to Friday night’s United Rugby Championship match against Connacht at Loftus Versfeld (6:30pm kickoff), White remarked that the youngster has the mental fortitude to become a part of Bok history.
Perhaps he can imitate Bryan Habana, who scored 67 tries in 124 Tests while being mentored by White.
“I’m stricter with him now! I’m lot harder on him now, and I mean it, because I believe… I have children, and this is the most natural thing in the world. Now he’s a Springbok and scoring tries in Rugby Championships,” the director of rugby for the Bulls stated.
“Therefore, I’m tough on him, but not in a dreadful way; I’m tough on him because I want him to remain the same.
“However, I don’t really need to worry about him because he’s great. We had yesterday morning off. At nine o’clock, he arrives to perform extras.
Therefore, he has not lost the fact that he is who he is, which is one of his characteristics. Recently, I saw an article which confirmed that he is a 13-year-old. Our centres are advancing in age; Lionel (Mapoe) and Cornal (Hendricks) have been around for a very long time.
“It won’t be long until Canan dons the 13 shirt as well, and he’ll have to put in more effort to get it right.
“I’ve stated numerous times that he’ll play 100 Tests for South Africa, and now others are beginning to see what I see. Not because it is a gift or a freebie, but simply because he is who he is.
“I will continue to be harsh on him to ensure he doesn’t miss his chance to become a 100-Test Springbok, which will be monumental for South Africa.”
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