Springboks’ next-gen stars eager to cement their places in squad — Moerat

New Springbok captain Salmaan Moerat says that the players will be looking to cement themselves in the Bok squad by putting in big performances against Portugal in their one-off Test at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening (kick-off 5pm).

It is the final Test of the Boks’ Incoming Series, which also included two Tests against Ireland, and a team made up of mostly fringe and inexperienced players, with an eye on the future, will be in action against the tier two nation.

Impress coaching team

Moerat said that the main goal for the team was to represent the Boks with honour and win the match, but also that the players will want to impress, ahead of the 30-man Rugby Championship squad being named next week.

“I think everyone that is playing this weekend wants to cement themselves in the squad and we are all wanting to be a part of the Springbok squad for the rest of the year. So individually I think we want to play to the best of our abilities,” explained Moerat.

“But as a team we were chosen to represent South Africa and we have a massive responsibility in doing that. There are a lot of players that could have been here, but we are the ones that have been entrusted with that by the coaches and that is a huge responsibility.”

Moerat, who only has six caps for the Boks, will become their 66^th captain when he leads the team onto the field on Saturday, and he is confident that he can do his job well, especially with the backing of the players behind him.

Changed leadership

“These days leadership has changed so much. Previously you would have a designated captain and he would make all the decisions on the field. But within the Springbok setup what helps is there are experienced players all around,” said Moerat.

“They take ownership in their roles and departments. In the end what the captain really is, is the face of the team and makes sure everything runs smoothly.”

Looking at the challenge that they are expecting from Portugal, Moerat says they will have to be at their very best if they want to walk away from the game with a positive result.

“Portugal was probably one of the standout teams at the World Cup. Not many people were expecting much from them and I think they performed exceptionally well. They beat Fiji, which is a quality team with quality players,” said Moerat.

“Their style of play is different to others. They like to keep the ball alive and spread it wide. They have elusive loose forwards, great backs and an outstanding captain.

“So we really need to be ready and pitch up on the day. I think it’s going to be very important for us to stick to our plan and try to enforce our game on them.”