Bok coach Nienaber impressed by Moodie’s impressive display in win over Wallabies

After they finally broke their Australian hoodoo with a well-constructed 24-8 victory over the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday, Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber was left impressed by 19-year-old winger Canan Moodie.

Moodie, who became the second youngest Springbok to make his Test debut in the professional era, scored the second try for the Boks on their way to this morale-boosting away victory.

Other Bok tries were scored by Damian de Allende, Franco Mostert and Malazole Mapimpi as they returned to winning ways after two successive defeats.

“I am happy and proud for Canan, he has been good for his franchise (the Vodacom Bulls), and we have been following his performances for a while,” said a happy Nienaber.

“He is the fourth or fifth wing we have played this year, and it is tough on teams, but at the same time it gives us answers with an eye on the Rugby World Cup.”

Asked to reflect on this significant victory, Nienaber commended his charges for using their opportunities.

“Last week we created opportunities and didn’t take them and that was better tonight,” he said after the morale-boosting match that has revived their chances of winning the competition.

“We also weren’t happy with the intensity last week and are pleased that we also made a big step-up in that regard tonight.”

This win is the first for the Boks in Australia since they triumphed 38-12 in 2013.

“We have played here five times as a group and this is the first time we have won, and we are very pleased that we could change our fortunes here,” he said.

“It was also good to see the players who received a chance to play use their opportunities. We placed a lot of pressure on ourselves internally to get things right this week.”

 The Boks turn their attention to the remaining two matches against Argentina and Nienaber and captain Siya Kolisi expect a big challenge from the highly unpredictable Pumas.