Sport Rugby

CAPTAIN MOERAT: Salmaan to lead Boks v Portugal

Francois De Wet|Published

Salmaan Moerat will become the 66th Springbok captain on Saturday when he leads out the team against Portugal at the Free State Stadium. Picture: BackpagePix

Stormers skipper lock and skipper Salmaan Moerat will become the 66th player to captain the Springboks when he leads out a much-changed team in Saturday’s Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein.

Moerat, 26, will captain South Africa in only his second start in the green-and-gold jersey, with his four other Bok caps all coming off the bench.

Coach Rassie Erasmus, who named a side with one eye on the future, believes he couldn’t have named a better leader for this team.

The coach explains: “Salmaan commands respect from his teammates, so we’d like to congratulate him on this achievement…

“We know that he’ll take on this responsibility as well as he has for the other teams he has led…”

Erasmus made 14 changes to the starting team that lost to Ireland 25-24 at Kings Park last weekend, with three players Phepsi Buthelezi (loose-forward), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (loosehead prop) and Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) making their debuts in the run-on XV.

Kurt-Lee Arendse is the only survivor from the Durban Test, and moves from left to right wing as Makazole Mapimpi and fullback Aphelele Fassi join him in a new back three.

The matchday squad also
features six Stormers
players, with Manie Libbok returning to the flyhalf berth, while Evan Roos will pack down at No.8 and Ben-Jason Dixon on the side of the scrum.

Cape hooker Andre-Hugo Venter is also in line for a first international cap off the bench, where he will sit on the wood next to utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Venter isn’t the only possible debutant on the bench, with uncapped Lions trio Ruan Venter (flank), Morne van den Berg (scrumhalf) and Quan Horn (fullback) all joining him on the wood.

SPRINGBOKS: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.

Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn.

Daily Voice

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