Almost sixteen months is a long time to wait for a Test jersey. It feels longer when the last time you wore one, you were the man leading the team out of the tunnel.
For Salmaan Moerat, Springboks lock and the 66th player to captain his country, the wait ends in Turin on Saturday. His last Test was on 12 July 2025 in Gqeberha, where he wore the armband and South Africa beat Italy 45-0. His next one is against Italy too, at the Allianz Stadium, with Moerat in the No. 4 jersey and Eben Etzebeth out injured. Same opponent. A very different road to get there.
Salmaan Moerat: quick facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 March 1998, Paarl (age 28) |
| Position | Lock |
| Club | Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle), France, since 2026 |
| Previous club | Stormers, eight seasons, captain for the last two |
| Height | 2.00 m (club figure) |
| Test caps | 11, as at 2 November 2026 (RugbyPass team listing; Stade Rochelais) |
| Test debut | Against Wales, 2022 |
| Springbok captaincy | The 66th Springbok captain, first in July 2024 |
| Last Test | Italy, Gqeberha, 12 July 2025 (won 45-0, as captain) |
| Next Test | Italy v South Africa, Saturday 7 November 2026, 13:40 SAST, Allianz Stadium, Turin |
Who is Salmaan Moerat? Springboks lock, leader, Paarl man
Moerat was born in Paarl on 6 March 1998, his club records, which makes him 28. He stands 2.00 metres and weighs 122 kilograms by La Rochelle’s own figures, which is about what you would order if you were building a Test lock from scratch.
SA Rugby’s profile opens with three words: “A born leader”. The record backs it up. He captained the SA Schools side and the Junior Springboks, then his franchise and his provincial union, long before anyone handed him a Bok armband.
The franchise was the Stormers. Pretoria News records his Super Rugby debut in 2018, away to the Highlanders in Dunedin, and has him leading the Stormers in their first United Rugby Championship match, against Benetton in 2021. He spent eight seasons in Cape Town, La Rochelle says, and he was club captain for the last two of them. A Paarl-born lock who ended up captaining both Western Province and the Stormers. That is not a small thing in the Cape.
From debut to the armband
SA Rugby’s profile dates his Test debut to 2022, against Wales. By November that year he was named to start against Italy in Genoa, alongside his Stormers teammate Marvin Orie, with two caps to his name at the time, the Stormers reported.
Then came 2024, and the moment that put him in the history books. Rassie Erasmus named Moerat as captain for the Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein in July 2024, which made him the 66th Springbok captain. The Post and Daily Maverick both recorded that he was the first Muslim player to lead the national side. The Post added another first: it was the Springboks’ first Test against Portugal.
SA Rugby lists wins over Portugal and Australia under his captaincy that year, and SA Rugby Magazine reported him leading the side again in Perth that August. Not a caretaker who kept the seat warm for a week. A captain who was trusted more than once.
Gqeberha, July 2025: the last time he played
The last Test Moerat played came a year later. With Siya Kolisi being managed, TimesLIVE reported, Moerat led the side for the second Test against Italy at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 12 July 2025. SA Rugby called him “Springbok captain” in its preview that week.
South Africa won 45-0, SA Rugby, EWN and the Sowetan reported, and EWN noted that it sealed a 2-0 series win. The Citizen counted it as his fourth Test as captain, and afterwards he spoke openly about how much he had leaned on the senior players around him.
Nobody in Gqeberha that afternoon would have guessed it would be his last Test for almost sixteen months.
The road back: injury, a move and a long wait
SA Rugby’s own profile is plain about the hard part: he “has had to deal with a fair amount of injury setbacks”. Since Gqeberha, Moerat has not played a Test, AFP reported on Monday, and Planet Rugby counts only one Test for him since 2024. Injury kept him out of the July leg of the Nations Championship and the series against the All Blacks, according to SA Rugby’s team announcement as carried by rugby365 and AFP’s report. That is as far as we go on the details.
There was a life change in the middle of it too. In April 2026 the Stormers confirmed that their captain would leave at the end of the season for an opportunity in France, and Moerat’s goodbye to Cape Town was short and warm: “It will always be home for me,” he said, as quoted by Pretoria News and Planet Rugby.
The destination was Stade Rochelais. The club says he signed for three seasons, until 2029, and AFP reported the deal as three years when La Rochelle unveiled its signings in July.
Then, on 28 October, SA Rugby named a 37-man squad for the Boks’ last four Tests of the season, and Moerat was in it. La Rochelle celebrated the call-up on its own site, noting that he was the only Top 14 player in the group. Daily Maverick’s squad list bears that out: no other player in the 37 is listed at a French club. Our squad analysis looks at the whole group and where the new caps fit.
Where Moerat fits in the Springbok lock picture
Five locks made the squad: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Moerat, Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears), the uncapped Riley Norton (Stormers) and Franco Mostert (Honda Heat). Missing from that list is the biggest name in the position. Eben Etzebeth was ruled out of the November Tests through injury when the squad was named, Daily Maverick and RugbyPass reported.
That left the No. 4 jersey open, and Planet Rugby called Moerat’s selection the only real shock in the team. The numbers explain why it raised eyebrows. RugbyPass’s listing has Moerat on 11 caps going into Saturday, Nortje on 24 and de Jager on 78. De Jager is on the bench in Turin. Mostert and Norton are not in the 23, and Daily Maverick points out that Norton can also cover blindside flank.
So the lock picture for Turin is simple to describe and interesting to watch. Nortje is the incumbent who has played this season. Moerat brings Test captaincy experience and a point to prove. De Jager, with the most caps of the three, comes off the bench.
Why Turin matters for Moerat
Of everyone in the matchday 23, Moerat is the only one yet to play a Test this season, rugby365 and Daily Voice both noted. That is the stakes in one line. One good afternoon at the Allianz Stadium and he is back in the conversation for the rest of November. A quiet one, and the queue behind Etzebeth gets longer.
Kick-off is 13:40 SAST on Saturday 7 November (12:40 in Turin), according to SA Rugby’s fixture listing. The table matters too: how the Nations Championship works explains what each result is worth, and our Springboks team page has the bigger story of the side he is rejoining.
He has done the hard yards to get back. Now he gets to lead with his play rather than the armband. Sixteen months, nearly. Eighty minutes to make them count.
Frequently asked questions
Who does Salmaan Moerat play for?
Salmaan Moerat plays for Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) in France’s Top 14. He joined in 2026 on a deal the club says runs for three seasons, until 2029. Before that he spent eight seasons with the Stormers and was their captain for the last two.
How old is Salmaan Moerat?
Moerat is 28. He was born in Paarl on 6 March 1998, according to his club, Stade Rochelais.
How many caps does Salmaan Moerat have?
Moerat had 11 Test caps going into the Italy Test, as at 2 November 2026, according to RugbyPass’s team listing and his club. He made his Test debut against Wales in 2022, and his most recent Test was against Italy in Gqeberha on 12 July 2025.
Has Salmaan Moerat captained the Springboks?
Yes. He became the 66th Springbok captain in 2024, leading the side for the first time against Portugal in Bloemfontein, and he was the first Muslim player to captain the national team. SA Rugby lists wins over Portugal and Australia under him, and he also led the Boks to a 45-0 win over Italy in Gqeberha in July 2025.
When do the Springboks play Italy in Turin?
The Springboks play Italy on Saturday 7 November 2026 at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, in the Nations Championship. Kick-off is 13:40 SAST, which is 12:40 in Turin. Moerat starts at lock alongside Ruan Nortje.