The new Springbok captain, Salmaan Moerat, will be banking on his experienced players during Saturday’s historic Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein.

Moerat will lead the world champions for the first time in what will be just his seventh Test. This comes as the Boks are resting several senior players, while there are also injuries. In addition, the Springboks have identified this Test as their opportunity to start building on their depth with the eye on the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

The 26-year-old is no stranger to captaincy as he led his alma mater Paarl Boys’ High, as well as South Africa Schools, the Junior Springboks and the Stormers.

Moeraat told OFM Sport that the leadership role isn’t filled by just one person and it’s more of a collective effort.

“Absolutely, I think these days leadership has changed so much,” said the tall lock.

“It's changed over time and I think previously you'd have a designated captain and you'd make all the decisions on the field, but I think within the Springbok setup, what helps a lot is these experienced players all around.

“These players take ownership in their roles and the departments of the game. At the end of the day, the captain really is really more of just the face. Maybe he's just the face, but he's a mediator, I'd say, and he makes sure that everything runs smoothly.

“Like I said, earlier this week, those guys really took responsibility and made my job so much easier and I could just slot in and try to focus on my game.”

Hollie Davidson 

Moerat added that they welcome the fact that they will be officiated by a woman for the first time in Hollie Davidson of Scotland, and he assured everyone that she will enjoy the same respect as any other referee.

“We pride ourselves as a team on always treating referees with respect and Hollie showed in the United Rugby Championship that she’s a very capable referee, and as a team we feel she deserves this appointment, and we’d like to congratulate her for that.”

The assistant coach, Mzwandile Stick, added that they pride themselves on the fact that Davidson will officiate them in an historic Test.

“Respect is the word that comes to mind for us with all referees going into matches. I like Hollie’s confidence and how she handles matches, and I’d also like to congratulate her on this achievement.

“Well done to World Rugby as well for making this appointment. This is what transformation of rugby is all about, it’s not about black and white. I have no doubt we’ll see more female referees coming through the structures in future.”

Saturday’s Test at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein kicks off at 17:00.

Springboks – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 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 (captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels

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

Portugal - 15 Simao Bento, 14 Manuel Cardoso Pinto, 13 José Lima, 12 Tomas Appleton (captain), 11 Rodrigo Marta, 10 Joris Moura, 9 Hugo Camacho, 8 Vasco Baptista, 7 Diego Pinheiro, 6 Jose Madeira, 5 Duarte Torgal, 4 Nicolas Fernandes, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Luka Begic, 1 Francisco Fernandes

Replacements - 16 David Costa, 17 Pedro Vicente, 18 Abel Cunha, 19 Antonio Andrade, 20 Andre Cunha, 21 Pedro Lucas, 22 Domingos Cabral, 23 Jose Santos.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport