Salmaan Moerat a future Bok captain, Rassie Erasmus suggests

Salmaan Moerat may be out of sight this weekend when the Springboks meet the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium, but he is very much occupying the mind of head coach Rassie Erasmus.

The Bok coach on Thursday again strongly hinted the lock's suitability as future Springbok captain.

Of course Moerat has already led the Boks when they brushed Portugal aside in Bloemfontein earlier this year, but it is as long-term successor for incumbent Siya Kolisi that the Stormers skipper appears to have a significant admirer.

Erasmus named his team to play the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship and in explaining his selections he made a point of touching on Moerat's omission in a city that will be sympathetic to the lock's cause.

“A guy like Salmaan Moerat is very unlucky not to be in this team,” said the astute Erasmus, all too aware of the undercurrents that run through Western Province rugby. Erasmus has restored Eben Etzebeth to the No 4 jersey, while Pieter-Steph du Toit has reverted to No 7.

In Cape Town there might even have been a clamour for Moerat to wear the captain's armband if Kolisi was declared unavailable due to his fractured nose, but that would have been a bold move against opponents adept at delivering a timely counter punch.

Besides, Kolisi has thumbed his nose at the injury. 

“If we went six/two (bench split) Salmaan would have been in the mix, even five/three, but we have the luxury of a Pieter-Steph,” Erasmus said about Du Toit's versatility and durability across 80 minutes. Du Toit will cover lock should the need arise.

“I see Salmaan playing a lot of Test matches for South Africa,” Erasmus continued to sing the second rower's praises. “And I see him as a great captain. He's really someone who brings something to the party. There is a calmness about him, a precision thing about him, and he has a really great work ethic.”

Moerat, who assumed leadership positions through his formative years, has a few hurdles to overcome.

For the foreseeable future Etzebeth will be the Springboks' go-to lock in the No 4 jersey. Few will argue Etzebeth as the best in his class globally, but Moerat will likely see more game time as the 2027 World Cup draws nearer.

Moerat isn't the only player chomping at the bit to play the All Blacks. The Boks have built tremendous depth and have incorporated new players next to established winners over the last few years.

“We have a few guys who are unlucky,” acknowledged Erasmus. “I saw a few sad faces when we announced the team (internally). Marco (van Staden) must be desperately disappointed because we didn't go with a six/two split on the bench. The guys have handled it really well. Cobus (Reinach), Manie (Libbok),” said Erasmus.

In fact, that pair has learnt to deal with disappointment. They started the World Cup quarterfinal and semifinal before being dropped for Faf de Klerk and Handré Pollard for last year's final.

“We will never tell a franchise coach where to play a player. It will be even more interesting when Damian Willemse gets fit because then it will be him, Sacha and Manie. That is three great playmakers you have in your team.

—  Rassie Erasmus

Libbok is in for an interesting ride with the Stormers too. He has established himself as their go-to flyhalf but Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has designs on that jersey.

“We will never tell a franchise coach where to play a player,” assured Erasmus. “It will be even more interesting when Damian Willemse gets fit because then it will be him, Sacha and Manie. That is three great playmakers you have in your team.

“He is disappointed, but two years ago he would have been much more disappointed,” Erasmus said about Libbok.

Flank Ben-Jason Dixon, who started last week, has disappeared from the match-day 23. He took to social media lamenting his performance at Ellis Park. “He shouldn't be and I told him,” said Erasmus. “I think he is going to play a lot of Test matches. He's definitely the next seven flanker that we think can do it. Ben-Jason will probably play next week again.”

Erasmus wants to expand his player group to help ease the workload on the players on the wrong side of 30.

“If we have a group of guys who are all 32, they can't play all the Test matches over the next three years just for us to win, but then they are buggered for the World Cup.”