Get to know new Springbok captain Salmaan Moerat

Stormers lock Salmaan Moerat will captain the Springboks in their one-off Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein on Saturday, with kick-off at 5pm. He will become the 66th man, and first Muslim, to lead the South African national rugby team.

Here are a few facts you might not know about the Boks’ new team leader.

Origins

Moerat was born on March 6, 1998 in Paarl which makes him 26 years old. He played U13 Craven Week rugby for Boland in 2011 and later captained the Paarl Boys High first XV in 2016.

He also played SA Schools rugby in 2015 and 2016.

Vitals

The specialist No 4 lock stands exactly 2 metres tall and tips the scales at 118kg.

He made his Western Province and Stormers debuts in 2018, the same year he represented the Junior Springboks for a second time. He also captained the “Baby Boks”.

Springboks

Moerat first played for the Boks in 2022, when he debuted in a match against Wales in Pretoria.

“I was excited and grateful, but there was also relief. There was a lot of expectation on me to become a Springbok, especially among the Muslim community,” he said.

“I had my family there, I had my wife there … it’s a day I won’t forget.”

Captaincy

Moerat has captained the Stormers regularly over the last few years and will now lead the Boks.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said on Tuesday: “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 Stormers and Western Province, which speaks volumes about his quality as a player and a captain.”