Canan Moodie’s meteoric rise from nowhere

Thankfully, as a 20-year-old, Canan Moodie has time on his side. When he goes to the mall back home in Paarl, the Bulls and Springbok wing has to factor in the prospect of being recognised. It is time he does not mind sharing.

Moodie, who has scooped SA Rugby’s Young Player of the Year award for 2022, has had to make a few adjustments since he so marvellously rose to the occasion on Test debut in Sydney in 2022.

He made a dream try-scoring debut that helped propel the Springboks to victory and admits he still feels a tingle.

“I get goose bumps just thinking about it. It was a very special and emotional week,” said Moodie. He was told on arrival on the Sunday, six days out from the Test, he would be a starter.

“I couldn’t formally tell anyone yet,” he recalled. “The [team announcement] media conference was only on the Tuesday, so I had to keep quiet about it when I was speaking to my parents and my brother. With all the excitement building up, I had to suppress it a bit.”

Moodie said he tried to stay focused and in the moment. “Once you touch the ball for the first time you feel at home and everything just clicks. The emotions and the nerves go away. It was special to top it off with a try as well.

“It was very special and a memory I will forever keep close to my heart,” said the strapping wing.

His rise has been meteoric, especially when one considers that he was still at school when some of his teammates lifted the World Cup in 2019.

“I was very star-struck. But you are there to do a job.”

What makes his rise even more extraordinary is that he did not play the game in his matric year, and when the Bulls snapped him up he was playing outside centre.

“It is very good of them to take a chance on me. I wasn’t really known from school so I had to prove myself in each game, each training session.

“It worked out really well for me to be seen by coach Jake [White], getting a senior cap — and the rest is history.”

White has been hugely complimentary of Moodie, suggesting he is the best player he has coached.

His journey to Pretoria is a roundabout one. His high school coach at Boland Agricultural College, Oloff Bergh, put him in touch with Nollis Marais, one of the Bulls coaches.

Moodie credits his brother, Keanu, as the biggest influence on his career. “He always pushed me to go past my limits. He pushed me to be better and go harder. When times were tough he supported me.

“We always had this dream that we are going to make it and be successful and we worked hard every day. A lot of sacrifices had to be made but at the end of the day it all worked out.”