Springboks rookies to watch: Pearls of Paarl to take flight at maiden RWC

The Springboks squad features 12 players who’ll make their maiden Rugby World Cup appearance this year. Here, TheSouthAfrican.com singles out three of those newcomers who will set the tournament alight with their performances.

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Canan Moodie, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Grant Williams are three of a dozen Springboks who will experience the magic and euphoria of playing at a World Cup.

Coincidentally all three of them hail from Paarl. So below, we take a look at how the trio will be taking Paarl to the world at RWC 2023.

THE BOKS’ PEARLS OF PAARL TO STAR AT RWC

Canan Moodie

Is there a more exciting prospect in world rugby than this kid? Probably not. His rapid and quite spectacular rise has proven that he is pure dynamite.

Since making his Test debut against the Wallabies at the tender age of 19 last year, he has only grown in stature and status. He has faced and excelled against the All Blacks, Wallabies, Argentina, Wales and England.

In fact, he was outstanding in his last Test outing against the All Blacks at Twickenham. Playing in the unfamiliar outside centre position and fronting up to Rieko Ioane, Moodie showed great maturity and calmness under pressure.

His silky footwork, deft handling skills, all-round defensive strength and his unique IQ in terms of reading the game were all on full display as he delivered the type of performance that put the world on alert about what he can and in all likelihood will do at the World Cup.

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Kurt-Lee Arendse

Unlike Moodie, Arendse has previous experience of performing on an international stage. He did it for several years in the World Rugby Sevens Series during his time with the Blitzboks.

When the Springbok Sevens set-up lost a host of players to fifteens, Arendse was one of them. And the pocket rocket soon made a name for himself in the longer form of the game at the Bulls. One thing led to another and he was in the Springbok squad and now finds himself France-bound to compete on rugby’s biggest stage.

With 11 tries in 10 Tests, KLA — as he has been dubbed — has become one of the best finisher in rugby, but he is so much than that. He brings variety to the Springboks’ attack and does not take a backward step in defence.

KLA is a well-oiled try-scoring machine set to power-up the Springboks’ attack at Rugby World Cup 2023.

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Grant Williams

His is a story of patience and perseverance. It took Williams a long time before he made it onto the Springboks’ radar and when he finally did, the scrumhalf took the opportunity with both hands.

He has all the makings of a top-tier international scrumhalf, but what sets him apart is his electrifying speed. The 27-year-old has pace to burn and can quite easily hold his own against the Springbok wingers.

With four scrumhalves in the squad and the Springboks possibly reintroducing the highly talked about 7-1 bench split, dare we say that Williams could by deployed as the utility player if or when that controversial bench formation is used again?

Time will tell, but weather happens, Williams will be ready to step into any role.

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