From couch to pitch: Moodie set to face All Blacks

THERE is a list of Springboks who have never beaten the All Blacks in a Test - players who played their hearts out against the archenemy but never got over the line.

- JOHN GOLIATH

Then there is Canan Moodie, who finds himself on the other side of the spectrum, amongst a fortunate group who haven't tasted defeat against the New Zealanders. The Bulls back has two wins from two starts against the All Blacks, while the Boks are on a four-match winning streak against them.

Moodie ran out at outside centre in the first game against the All Blacks in a warm-up Test ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup at Twickenham. On that day, as Bok assistant coach Felix Jones described it in Chasing the Sun 2, the Springboks “gave the All Blacks the biggest beating in the history of rugby”.

Last year, in their Rugby Championship match in Cape Town, Moodie was on the wing when the Boks came from behind to seal a nail-biting win.