Damian De Allende: 'Exceptional' Moodie is a creative force

As auditions go, Canan Moodie's performance against the All Blacks was electrifying.

LIVEWIRE: Canan Moodie of South Africa. Pic: ©INPHO/Andy Watts

South Africa haven’t just won three World Cups on a platform of physically imposing and technically superb packs. They have built a culture and an aura on the back of them. Dominating opposing sides isn’t so much what they do as who they are.

Curious to think, then, that when World Rugby revealed a Dream Team for the 2022 calendar year with three Springboks contributing to the XV that there was only one forward, Malcolm Marx, among them.

It’s true that it hadn’t been a vintage year. Eight wins and five losses, three of the latter coming on a European tour, made for a difficult 12 months but their other two players were centres: Lukhanyo Am and Munster old boy Damian de Allende.

Am’s place, and a nomination for World Player of the Year, raised eyebrows given some issues with form and injury but the abilities of a man who is currently injured and only on standby for the World Cup were never in question.

There has been concern about the lack of depth at outside-centre in his absence but the Boks make up for that with class. André ‘The Giant’ Esterhuizen was voted the Premiership’s Player of the Year in 2022/23 and then there’s 20-year Canan Moodie.

Moodie had already served notice of a potentially epic career for club and country before facing the All Blacks at Twickenham but his performance as part of that historic takedown last month was his first at outside-centre.

As auditions go it was electrifying.

“He was exceptional and that’s great,” said de Allende. 

“I said it before, last year, it is so nice that the talent is always in good hands in South Africa and it is nice for a 19-year-old (sic, 20-year-old) just to come into the system and fit in so easily. He was exceptional against New Zealand.

“I hope he will get many more opportunities and goes from strength to strength. Whether he plays at centre, on the wing, or at full-back he is a great talent. If you just get the ball in his hands he will create something.” 

Esterhuizen was immense in the run-in to this tournament too. There were enormous displays at home to Australia, away to Argentina and in London and the spin-off to all this was an absence of consensus as to who might start their opener against Scotland.

The human compunction to want something new and shiny meant that maybe de Allende’s 70 caps, his brilliant role in the 2019 title win and a skillset that can ally soft hands and a useful boot to all that raw muscle wasn’t being fully appreciated outside camp.

Inside it was different. Jesse Kriel and de Allende got the nod for the opener and were central to a defensive line that suffocated Finn Russell and the rest of that dangerous Scottish backline. Keeping them to three points was an extraordinary effort.

The attacking side is more of a work-on.

De Allende did carry quite well while Kriel had a passable game alongside him but there is clearly scope for more in a back line that can boast some combination of Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Moodie, Makazole Mapimpi, Damian Willemse and Willie Le Roux.

Any number of combinations can be used as they turn towards a turkey shoot against Romania this weekend, but Mannie Libbok is all but guaranteed to be back in the No.10 pocket when the serious business restarts against Ireland a week later.

Criticised for his goal-kicking again after Scotland, the Boks have been swift to back him.

“Like I said, our coaches have upskilled us and made us better rugby players and Mannie played a great game,” said de Allende. “We need to carry on backing him and playing with him because he is something else on the field.

“We just need to carry on getting better at what we want to achieve, get more confidence with that and start executing a bit better. It was a bit low [against Scotland] but the ball was a lot slippier than normal and it made it hard out there, but we are on the right track.”

Nienaber has said much the same. The head coach has made the point twice lately that this vintage is superior to the class that won the title four years ago, and that they will have to lean further on those upgrades when this tournament peaks.

De Allende agrees.

“The rules have changed a bit in rugby since 2019 and every team has a very good setpiece now. We have upped our skill and that has been down to incredible work by Felix [Jones], Coach [Mzwandile] Stick and Jacques [Nienaber] so I feel like we have not just improved as a team but as individuals as well.

“That is the most important thing. A lot of our forwards two years ago probably couldn’t pass off their left and right and probably 95% of our forwards can do it now, which is very good. So we have put a lot of effort into getting better rugby players and making ourselves better.”