Our 'South African-ness' saw us through the red-card adversity, says Springbok centre Moodie

Springbok centre Canan Moodie believes the team’s ability to fight out of tight spots is rooted in the quintessential nature of South Africans.

The Boks have had to overcome potentially catastrophic red cards in their matches against France and Italy over the last fortnight. Moodie attributes their resilience to the team mantra of “South African-ness,” a motif closely related to the 2023 World Cup theme borrowed from fighter Drikus du Plessis: “Hulle weet nie wat ons sweet nie” – or They (non-South Africans) don’t know what we (South Africans) know.

“The ‘South African-ness’ is special,” Moodie said.

“It is about the willingness to make plans for the team, to not think about yourself. It is about selflessness and working for the betterment of the team.

“We saw this after the red card. A lot of guys had to go off early. Plans had to be made for players to come on who could cover various positions and operate all around the park.

“That is what makes this group so special. The red card brought adversity, but we could make plans to recover and go on to win the game.”

Moodie added that even without Franco Mostert’s sending off in the 11th minute, the match against Italy was always going to be tough.

“They had a good game the previous week in beating Australia, so we knew it would be challenging. And it got tougher after the early red card.

"We just had to fight and bring in our ‘South African-ness,’ work hard for each other, and grind it out. We did just that and finished strongly to win.”

One of the changes caused by the red card was the introduction of centre-flank Andre Esterhuizen, which meant Moodie and Ethan Hooker’s highly anticipated midfield combination was short-lived.

“We only got to play about ten minutes together in the centres,” Moodie said ruefully. “But it is something we would like to develop going forward. We will have to see if the opportunity comes again.”

Before kick-off, there were questions about the team’s cohesion, as coach Rassie Erasmus had overhauled the side that beat France the previous week.

“A lot of questions were asked about us putting out a team with 11 changes, but that is the trust the coaches have in us – to come out and fight and show grit, even if you have not played much together,” Moodie explained.

“You want to repay the trust the coaches have put in you by delivering on the field and winning the game.”

The Boks travel to Dublin on the back of three consecutive tour wins. The Ireland game will be something of a grudge match, as the Irish have often been a bogey team for South Africa.

“We take a lot of confidence to Ireland,” Moodie said.

“The last two games were very tight, and we had to fight it out, but we scored good tries in the last quarter to give us momentum and confidence. We will have to see what Ireland throws at us next week, but we will be well prepared.”