Reinach backs Springbok debutant Moyo to shine at fly-half against Wales

Cobus Reinach has thrown his full support behind Vusi Moyo ahead of the debutant’s first Test start at fly-half for South Africa against Wales, while cautioning that the World Cup holders must not let the memory of their 73-0 Cardiff demolition breed overconfidence.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus has handed Moyo the No.10 jersey for Saturday’s Nations Championship fixture, a decision Reinach — who replaced the starting scrum-half in the 51st minute of that November thrashing — believes is well-earned. The experienced 51-cap half-back says two weeks of shared training have left him in no doubt that Moyo is ready for the Test arena.

“If you train with Vusi for the last two weeks, you know you do not have to look after him,” Reinach told IOL Sport. “He can look after himself. He might be a young man, but he has soft hands, and he knows the game very well.”

Reinach pointed to the support structure around Moyo as further reason for optimism, noting that Damian de Allende will be outside the debutant while he himself lines up on the inside. “There is nothing to worry about,” he said. “It is not an individual sport, it is 23 players who all have each other’s backs. So, yes, it is exciting times.”

Despite the scale of South Africa’s previous victory over Wales, Reinach was emphatic that the Springboks will not be lulled into a false sense of security. The scrum-half stressed that the squad’s focus is entirely on the present rather than past results.

“We do not talk about what we have done before,” he said. “We focus on what we need to do now to get better as a squad. There are always work-ons. What has happened can change in a blink of an eye. If we don’t pitch up on Saturday, it is not going to just happen, and they will turn us over if we are not switched on.”

Reinach underlined that the Springboks’ standards demand full commitment regardless of the opposition. “We know we have to be 100 percent on our game, every game — it does not matter who you play and where you play them. It is all about us, our standards, and what we want to put on the field in front of our supporters.”

Moyo’s debut comes on home soil, an added incentive for a Springbok side that will be eager to build on the momentum of their Nations Championship campaign.