Rassie Erasmus explains picking Salmaan Moerat as Springboks captain

The selection of Salmaan Moerat as captain of the South African team to tackle Australia in round two of The Rugby Championship in Perth on Saturday has raised a few eyebrows – at least outside the Springboks set-up. It will be the second time that the 26-year-old will lead his country having also captained them against Portugal in a one-off Test in Bloemfontein last month.

The 10 changes from last weekend’s 33-7 demolition of the Wallabies in Brisbane will see Morne van den Berg (scrum-half) and Ruan Nortje (lock) earn their first Test starts in the green and gold.

However, Moerat’s appointment as captain in the place of regular skipper Siya Kolisi – who is being rested – is one of the main points of contention. Erasmus made it clear last week’s big win and with another four rounds remaining after this week, it allowed him to give the other members of the 33-man tour squad a run.

“Everybody here is good enough to, hopefully, get a second win against Australia,” the two-time Rugby World Cup-winning coach said.

“It is not like the series against Ireland, where it was a do-or-die match. There are still 14 World Cup winners in the matchday 23. Hopefully the young guys will learn from the senior players and bring some exuberance and excitement.”

Switching to the question of captaincy, with a renowned leader like Pieter-Steph du Toit and seasoned flyer Cheslin Kolbe in the starting XV, Moerat’s appointment is perhaps not such a big risk as most pundits would have you believe.

“We have certain players that take responsibility in specific positions for us,” Erasmus explained. “Players are growing into things [situations and positions].”

He used full-back Aphelele Fassi, with just five caps, as an example of a player who could be an established senior mentoring young player in four years. “Giving Salmaan the captaincy against a tier one nation will just help him grow as a player.

“The same way we gave Pieter-Steph du Toit two (captaincy) caps, he now understands how to support a captain. He will help Salmaan, just like Eben (Etzebeth) and Bongi (Mbonambi) help Siya. It is not just who is the captain on the day; it is part of the growth of the player.”

Moerat, who captained Western Province and the Stormers, also skippered his country at age-group level – SA schools and Junior Boks. “It is for him to also grow,” continued Erasmus, adding: “Some guys are getting older and some players must help them to manage their workload. The senior players must help the younger team members and show them how to lead.”