Moyo living his dream with Davids wary of Wales threat

Young flyhalf Vusi Moyo, who is one of four players who will don the green and gold jersey in a Test match for the first time in Durban on Saturday, was in awe about earning his first Test cap, while Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids warned about the threat Wales could pose.

The Boks face Wales in their third and final home Test in the inaugural Nations Championship. The match at Hollywoodbets Kings Park kicks off at 5.40pm and will be broadcast live on SuperSport, while tickets are (unsurprisingly) still available.

“It's every kid's dream to be part of this Springbok set-up,” said a delighted Moyo, who fronted up to the media alongside his halfback partner Cobus Reinach.

“When the call came through on Monday, my heart missed a beat. It's very special to be around Cobus and the other players around me. Personally, it’s about making my family and the people that have been with me along the way proud.”

Moyo, who made his senior franchise debut for the Hollywoodbets Sharks and still played for the Junior Springboks earlier this season, earned his first senior national call-up last month.

“It was very special to get my first cap for the Sharks and then a few weeks later, get called up to this squad, so it's something I’m excited about and very grateful for,” he said.

“It offered me the opportunity to learn from the guys and keep improving because this set-up is much bigger, and you have to make decisions a lot quicker.”

The talented 20-year-old, who named his current teammates Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok as some of his heroes, was equally proud of his teammates Jaco Williams (wing), Ruben van Heerden (lock) and Carlu Sadie (prop), who will also earn their Test debuts on Saturday.

“Ruben, Carlu and Jaco are all making their debuts too, so it's important for all of us to implement what the coaches have taught us going into this weekend,” said Moyo.

“It's not just about me; it's about those guys as well. I’m very happy and when you have two-time Rugby World Cup champions around you, it's easier to learn from them.”

Davids, meanwhile, zoned into the challenges Wales would pose and spoke highly of the growth of their team during the Six Nations competition and beyond, despite coming off a defeat against Argentina last week.

“I think we would all agree that Wales is a very competitive team,” said Davids.

“They went through a challenging spell and worked very hard to get back on an upward curve.

“This is Test rugby and they would’ve learned a lot in the Six Nations and also from the game against Argentina. There are real improvements in their game and this will be the next step for them to improve in certain areas and become more competitive. So, it will be a proper Test match, and we are expecting a very tough physical game.”

With the Boks coming off successive victories in the competition, Davids said what happened in the past is history and that they have to keep improving: “We don't talk about what we've done before, we focus on what we need to do now to get better as a squad. There's always work to be done because things can change in the blink of an eye. If we don't pitch up this weekend, it won’t go our way, so we have to be accurate and focused.”

Springbok starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Jaco Williams, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Cobus Reinach; 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (capt), 6 Paul de Villiers; 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese; 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Damian Willemse.