The Albany Gazette - Moerat to debut as Springboks captain against Portugal

He takes over the captaincy of the reigning world champions from flanker Siya Kolisi, one of many regulars being rested after a bruising, drawn two-Test series against Ireland.

"Salmaan commands respect from his teammates, so we would like to congratulate him on this achievement," head coach Rassie Erasmus said of the six-cap forward.

"We have no doubt that he will 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."

Erasmus had made 14 changes to the side which started against Ireland in a 25-24 loss last Saturday.

There are also five changes to the bench, meaning only Moerat, fellow lock RG Snyman, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu remain from the last matchday 23.

Arendse is the lone survivor from the starting line-up that fell to the Irish in Durban with Ciaran Frawley slotting a post-hooter drop goal to win a thriller.

Erasmus has included seven uncapped players -- three starters and four replacements -- for the first meeting with the Portuguese Os Lobos (The Wolves).

Loosehead prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels, hooker Johan Grobbelaar and loose forward Phepsi Buthelezi are the three debutants set to start.

The bench includes a further four uncapped players in hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, loose forward Ruan Venter, scrum-half Morne van den Berg and utility back Quan Horn.

The wholesale changes were expected as Erasmus wants to rest regulars like Kolisi after the Ireland series.

Portugal are the only country outside the top 10-ranked sides that the Springboks will face in 13 Tests this year and this offers the four-time World Cup winners an opportunity to experiment.

"All the uncapped players, except Ruan Venter, were members of our training squad in June, and we were very impressed with the way they fitted into our structures and their work ethic.

"We have full faith in their abilities, and are excited to see what they offer on the field on Saturday."

Portugal warmed up for the Test in central city Bloemfontein by defeating Namibia 37-22 in Windhoek last Saturday.

"Portugal are a quality team as we saw with their victory against Fiji in the (2023) Rugby World Cup," said Erasmus.

"It was important for us to select a quality team with a bunch of experienced players, while at the same time delivering on our objective of growing our squad depth by naming a few debutants."

Team (15-1)

Aphelele Fassi; Kurt-Lee Arendse, Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Manie Libbok, Cobus Reinach; Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Phepsi Buthelezi; RG Snyman, Salmaan Moerat (capt); Thomas du Toit, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels

Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Trevor Nyakane, Ruan Venter, Elrigh Louw, Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Quan Horn

Coach: Rassie Erasmus (RSA)

(F.Jackson--TAG)