Who is Salmaan Moerat?

Rassie Erasmus named his squad to face Portugal on Saturday in Bloemfontein, in the third and final test of the July series.

As expected, it was a much-changed side with 7 uncapped players, including a new skipper, Salmaan Moerat, who becomes the 66^th   Springbok captain.

Who is Salmaan Moerat?

Salmaan Moerat is a 26-year-old South African rugby player standing at 2m tall and weighing in at 116 kg, who currently plays for the Stormers in South Africa as a lock.

Moerats’ talent had been recognised from a young age having played in the under 13 Craven Week which is one of his favourite rugby memories as a child. Thereafter he attended Paarl Boys' High School located in Paarl in the Westen Cape. It is a prestigious Rugby school which has produced multiple Springboks. During his time at Paarl Boys High, Moerat was given the opportunity to lead the South Africa Schools side.

Moerat began his professional career with the Boland Cavaliers which play in the Currie Cup First Division. He then joined Western Province, who also play in the Currie Cup. During this time, he was also given the opportunity to skipper the Junior Boks.

Moerat rose through the ranks of Western Province to become a regular starter in the Stormers side in Super Rugby. His hard work and consistency earned him the honour of being the Stormers first captain in the United Rugby Championship in 2021. In the same year the former SA Schools and Junior Springbok captain earned his first Springbok call-up in a squad of 32 players named by then Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber for the United Kingdom tour.

The following year in 2022, Moerat was named co-captains with Steven Kitshoff for the Cape Town side. The formidable lock has been a core part of the Stormers for many seasons now and his leadership skills earned him the title of club captain for the 2023/24 season.

Rassie has also recognised these skills and has decided to put him in charge for the final test against Portugal this coming Saturday.