Rassie Erasmus shares story of commitment about new Bok captain

Moerat will become the 66th Springbok captain when he leads out the Boks against Portugal in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.

The 26-year-old has long been part of leadership structures. Moerat has captained SA Schools, the Junior Springboks and the Stormers in his fledgling career and has been earmarked for greatness by management.

Speaking to the press this week, Erasmus unveiled a short story that is a strong character reference for the towering lock. Selected to captain the Stormers for the 2023/2024 season, Moerat found himself in a difficult situation when he was injured and thus left out of the Stormers' United Rugby Championship tour up north last November.

"The Stormers were playing away at Munster," recalled Erasmus.

"He was standing captain at the time, but couldn't play because he was injured. He was a week away from playing.

"He knew I coached Munster so he asked me [via a text message] what can he do to help the team. Maybe I knew something about Munster because I used to coach Munster.

"I found out later that he flew to be with the team at his own cost.

"He's captain material. We picked him because he is a great leader. He doesn't stand back physically or tactically. So it's well deserved."

Moerat leads out a Bok team with an exciting mix of experience and youth as the World Champions look to build squad depth amid a challenging season. 

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