{"id":287958,"date":"2023-08-26T22:36:03","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T22:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=287958"},"modified":"2023-08-26T22:36:03","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T22:36:03","slug":"canan-moodie-is-rugbys-new-star-who-had-to-walk-10-miles-to-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/rugby-union\/canan-moodie-is-rugbys-new-star-who-had-to-walk-10-miles-to-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Canan Moodie is rugby&apos;s new star who had to walk 10 miles to training"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>REVEALED: Canan Moodie, the 20-year-old who is rugby&#8217;s new superstar, grew up two doors from a drugs den and had to walk 10 miles to training with his brother<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Canan Moodie dazzled in South Africa&#8217;s record win vs New Zealand on Friday<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>The versatile back is set to star at the upcoming World Cup in France<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Moodie overcame adversity in his early childhood thanks to his family\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After his display of devastating elegance in the World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham on Friday night, Canan Moodie thanked his big brother, Keanu. He described him as his sporting idol. Why? Because he was the guy who walked the 10-mile journey to training with him through the dangerous streets of Paarl in the Western Cape.<\/p>\n<p>It is a long time since all those present in the press box at Twickenham let out a collective yelp of excitement. But that is exactly what happened when the young Springbok got the ball in his hands, playing with the grace and poise that you expect to see from a ballet dancer at the Royal Opera House.<\/p>\n<p>Moodie\u2019s rise to the big stage is remarkable. He dodged drugs and gangsters on the streets near his home, overcoming adversity on a journey that reached a checkpoint this weekend with the Springboks\u2019 record victory over New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Playing against the All Blacks in a packed Twickenham stadium\u2026 if you told me that a few years ago I would have laughed in your face,\u2019 said the 20-year-old centre.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We all have different backgrounds but mine was gangsterism, drugs. Tough times. Two houses away from me was a drug house. Now, when I go home, things are still there. My parents did well to keep us away from that area, and rugby was the way to stay away from that. Playing touch rugby on the grass or in the road was our way of staying busy.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/08\/26\/21\/74755541-12449039-image-m-13_1693081233976.jpg\" height=\"587\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Canan Moodie caight the eye as an outside centre in South Africa&#8217;s win against New Zealand at Twickenham<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/08\/26\/21\/74755545-12449039-image-a-11_1693081040983.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The 20-year-old scored his fourth South Africa try on Friday at Twickenham<\/p>\n<p>\u2018My brother kept me away from all that. When I looked up, he was working hard, walking 10, 15 kilometres to go and train. We didn\u2019t have any transport and he\u2019d do that walk after school. That motivated me.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Once I got a bit older, I started joining with him. It was tough, but if you come from a tough environment then you play the cards that you\u2019re dealt. You have a bigger dream and I\u2019ve seen that here today.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>After Friday\u2019s match, South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber compared Moodie to 62-cap All Black Rieko Ioane. They both started out on the wing before moving inside; this was Moodie\u2019s first Test start as a centre, in the No 13 jersey. Moodie described it as the position he \u2018fell in love\u2019 with when he first played there at secondary school.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018In South Africa, we start playing quite early. Under-7 is the first time you play in a team environment. For high school I went to Boland, a small agricultural school with 350 boys. It\u2019s basically on a big farm, staying in a hostel just outside of Paarl. I got the opportunity and I made the most of it. That\u2019s where I got the dream and thought maybe this rugby thing can work.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Moodie was also into athletics, describing himself as \u2018an average guy\u2019. There was nothing average about his latest rugby performance, adding to South Africa\u2019s lethal team of backs who thrive in the wreckage created by their heavyweight pack.<\/p>\n<p>Moodie\u2019s intercept and offload in one swooping motion felt like an act of sorcery, before he stepped around defenders as if they were mannequins to score a try that was unpopularly disallowed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/08\/26\/21\/74755543-12449039-image-a-12_1693081068832.jpg\" height=\"778\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Moodie has credited his brother Keanu and mother Chantel (above) for keeping him out of trouble as a youngster<\/p>\n<p>Asked where he perfected his footwork, he said: \u2018Most of us get our skill in the streets. We play in a road that\u2019s probably five metres wide so you learn that ability to beat guys in small spaces.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We used to watch games with our friends or family. At half-time I\u2019d go out into the road and imagine myself in this position. I\u2019d be running in the road alone, kicking the ball and scoring the match-winning try.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Moodie has the potential to light up the World Cup. Twickenham on Friday was packed with South Africans and the roar of appreciation for Siya Kolisi when he took the microphone after the final whistle was deafening. Kolisi connects with his people in a way of which most rugby players can only dream. Moodie could one day have a similar appeal if he keeps delivering performances like this.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Every opportunity I get I want to make the most of it,\u2019 Moodie said. \u2018This is what I dreamed of years ago, these are special memories.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12449039\/Canan-Moodie-rugbys-new-superstar-grew-two-doors-drugs-den-walk-10-miles-training-brother.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>REVEALED: Canan Moodie, the 20-year-old who is rugby&#8217;s new superstar, grew up two doors from a drugs den and had to walk 10 miles to training with his brother Canan Moodie dazzled in South Africa&#8217;s record win vs New Zealand on Friday The versatile back is set to star at the upcoming World Cup in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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