Canan Moodie had never played at outside-centre in a professional game. At least, not until this super-charged Twickenham evening, as fierce a Rugby World Cup warm-up as you will see despite the one-sided scoreboard.
In a match where the devastating power of the Springbok pack was again to the fore – when Jacques Nienaber selected a seven-one split in favour of forwards on the replacements’ bench – it may seem odd to focus on a back. But intelligently applied South African strength is a given these days, and the 20-year-old Moodie clearly has something special.
His eight previous international appearances were on the wing, and he has played full-back for the Bulls, but not since school had he played outside-centre. The fact his Instagram handle is moodie_c13 was a strong hint, however, that this was an opportunity he was waiting for.
At every Rugby World Cup there will be bolters; youngsters who invade the biggest stage and immediately look as if they belong. Much like the way he performs, Moodie has gone early.
A player-of-the-match display against Wales on the wing last weekend, including two tries, had already caught the eye. South Africa’s coaches clearly felt it was time to test him somewhere “new”.
“He’s got everything and he’s actually a centre, that’s the irony of the whole thing,” Jake White, the Bulls coach, said last year. “He’s playing wing and full-back but he’s actually a 13.”
After 20 minutes, as rain lashed down on the Twickenham turf and fans in the stands became similarly well-lubricated, Moodie may have been forgiven for thinking playing centre at Test level is a cushy number.
He had mostly done nothing other than stand around watching the South African forwards smash away inside the All Blacks’ 22.
Once in the first 20 minutes he made a decoy run as the backs used a rare chance to spin the ball wide.
But then, after half an hour, came a flash of jaw-dropping quality. Intercepting an Ardie Savea pass around halfway, facing in the wrong direction, Moodie’s understanding of the space and support around him was instinctive.
He instantly reached around an opponent, popping up an unconventional yet perfect pass for the full-back, Damian Willemse, to take beyond New Zealand’s defence, hopelessly exposed by Moodie’s vision.
Along with an improvised pass early on by Aaron Smith, the All Blacks’ scrum-half, it was a moment of class that stood out.
Perhaps in a perfect world Nienaber would have preferred Moodie to be tested more in defence, but his team inflicting the All Blacks’ worst-ever defeat did not really allow for that.
New Zealand defended with grit, but when they went permanently down to 14 before half-time space opened up for the Boks to exploit.
Partly, in truth, because Moodie was creating that space. His remarkable anticipation in defence allowed him to pounce on a loose ball, step on the accelerator, jink inside two would-be tacklers and glide, seemingly effortlessly, over the try-line. Never mind that the score was disallowed for offside; his outrageous ability in attack and defence was there for 80,827 fans to see.
For New Zealand, perhaps the only consolation on a miserable night is that it could have been worse. They were pinned back for much of the 80 minutes. Despite Sam Cane and Scott Barrett’s first-half yellow cards – Barrett was sent off after his second for a senseless hit on Malcolm Marx – Ian Foster’s side largely defended with skill and spirit. The second row’s dismissal is likely to mean Borthwickian nightmares for the head coach before the big one against France in Paris in two weeks.
The South Africa assistant coach, Mzwandile Stick, had previously hyped up Moodie’s midfield battle with Rieko Ioane as akin to a top-ranked Las Vegas boxing bout. By the end, there was no doubt which of them was flat on the canvas.
