Katlego Sekhu

Stormers Lock Salmaan Moerat will captain the Springboks for the first time when he leads a squad featuring seven uncapped players in a first Test against Portugal in the final match of the Castle Lager Incoming Series in Bloemfontein this Saturday.
The uncapped players in the starting lineup are former Junior Springbok captain Phepsi Buthelezi (flanker), Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Jan-Hendrik Wessels (prop), while Andre-Hugo Venter (hooker), Ruan Venter (loose forward), Morne van den Berg (scrumhalf) and Quan Horn (fullback) could be in line to make their Test debuts from the replacements’ bench.
The 26-year-old Moerat becomes the 66th Springbok captain – and the third in four tests this year – as he makes the step up having previously led SA Schools, the Junior Springboks and the DHL Stormers.
Only four players in the team were retained from Saturday’s match-23 against Ireland: Kurt-Lee Arendse (wing), RG Snyman, Moerat (both locks), and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (utility back).
Erasmus said he was pleased to be able to hand the captaincy to Moerat, whose track record as a captain was a testament of his abilities as a fine leader: “Salmaan commands respect from his teammates, so we’d like to congratulate him on this achievement, and we have no doubt that he’ll take on this responsibility as well as he has for the other teams he has led.
“He has come through the SA Rugby ranks and he went on to captain the Junior Springboks and SA Schools teams, as well as the DHL Stormers and Western Province, which speaks volumes about his quality as a player and a captain.”
Read Next: Cheslin Kolbe and his wife launch The Cheslin Kolbe Foundation



