Ken Borland

Potential Springbok new cap Salmaan Moerat has spent a reassuring week training alongside starting locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager and has just let their experience and wisdom rub off on him ahead of the first Test against Wales at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Moerat was named on the bench on Tuesday alongside Elrigh Louw as the only uncapped players in the Springbok squad to tackle Wales in their first Test of 2022.

Franco Mostert, who can also play lock, is starting in the No.7 jersey, while Louw can also provide cover in the middle-row. But Moerat was one of the most consistent players in the Stormers’ triumphant URC campaign, and he will surely get a chance to replace either Etzebeth, who will be playing his 98^th Test, or De Jager, making his 57^th appearance.

“It’s a really comforting factor to have Eben and Lood there and they have been helping me throughout the week,” Moerat said at the Springbok hotel in Fourways on Tuesday.

“I’ve been taking their advice and just trying to let them rub off on me. It’s a real plus to be playing with guys like them and now I must just execute my job.

“And in this environment you know exactly what your job is and you are expected to execute it, nothing more. I just have to do my role, nothing flashy.

“It’s a dream come true and very emotional for me and my family. Hopefully the guys who are starting do well and we all have the opportunity to get on off the bench,” Moerat said.

Given that Moerat has been on the Springboks’ radar since he was chosen for the SA Schools side in 2015 and then captained them the following year, and that he was part of the national squad for the end-of-year tour in 2021, coach Jacques Nienaber was not going to leave him on the window sill for long.

The towering 24-year-old, who weighs 116kg, is one of the brightest talents in South African rugby and likes to get stuck in. Nienaber clearly likes what he sees.

“Since 2015 we’ve operated together and Salmaan has been a leader for both Western Province and the Junior Springboks. He’s a good human being, we should start there,” Nienaber said.

“He’s a hard-worker and he’s coachable. Salmaan brings nice physicality, and we like that. Those are the standout features,” Nienaber said.

Lood de Jager’s Springbok career has been a saga of triumph and disappointment, but the 28-year-old still counts himself as being fortunate and accepts his many injury problems as just being part of his journey.

The East Rand product will play his 50^th Test for South Africa against Argentina on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the sixth specialist lock to reach that milestone. De Jager made his debut off the bench on June 14, 2014 against Wales in Durban and has now played in two World Cups, his outstanding displays in the 2015 edition winning him the SA Player of the Year title.

But he has had more than his fair share of injuries, especially in the shoulder region. De Jager missed the start of the Rassie Erasmus reign in 2018 because he had torn his pectoral muscle in Super Rugby that May, but did make two appearances off the bench on the end-of-year tour of Great Britain.

He injured the other shoulder in the triumphant 2019 World Cup final, and then the same shoulder went in September 2020. He had just returned to the field for the Sale Sharks in April when he suffered a freak training accident that broke his fibula and tore his knee ligaments. He did exceptionally well just to make the Springbok squad for the British and Irish Lions series, but of course was one of the players who came down with Covid.

But De Jager’s determination saw him return for the Springboks in the second Test, and his arrival in the second half certainly changed the fortunes of the team, especially in the lineouts.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of some real highs but some real lows too. I guess I’ve had a few more injuries than normal, but it’s just part of my journey and I must just adapt and come back stronger. I’m not a naturally fit person so it’s quite hard to regain that Test match intensity. Training does not come close to game intensity and I had just come back from injury when I caught Covid.

“But if you look at the history of Springbok rugby, lock has always been one of the positions with the best players, so I have a massive responsibility to go out and perform and make the jersey proud,” De Jager said this week.

De Jager’s positivity brings thousand of lux of shining happiness to the Springbok squad and coach Jacques Nienaber had nothing but praise for the giant with the metal shoulders.

“I take my hat off to him for all the ups and downs he has been through – that shoulder injury in the World Cup and then an unfortunate leg injury. He is slowly getting back to his full match-fitness, he’s played around 200 minutes now and I am very happy for him. It’s fantastic when players reach milestone games, that can only be good for us,” Nienaber said.

Q: There was a massive impact from the Springbok bench in the second Test against the British and Irish Lions, compared to the first match; how did you guys manage that?

LdJ – I think first of all, being injured for so long, it’s just a massive privilege to be part of this series and I was very happy to have the opportunity to get on the field. As forwards, we worked really hard on the fundamentals and our attitude, especially at the set-pieces. And we had six forwards on the bench so we were able to sustain the energy level of the starters and, if possible, maybe even try and raise it. We were obviously all disappointed in what happened in the first Test, maybe that was due to a bit of rustiness. But for us, the second Test was our last chance to show what we can do and we took it really personally. And it was not just the bench that did that. We were playing for our families and our country, those who are less-privileged than us. So that really fired us up, and not just the players – the coaches, the management, everyone. It was about more than ourselves, we were keeping each other accountable and that was driving our standards. The forwards responded well to the challenges we faced, standards were set and there were areas we improved on. We maybe started a bit slow, but we really improved as the game went on. Hopefully we can carry that same energy into the deciding Test, and we still have to raise the bar higher and set higher standards.

Q: The Springboks must also be very happy with their defence, having conceded just one try in the first two Tests?

LdJ – There are always areas we can improve but we have an exceptional defence coach in Jacques Nienaber. He is never satisfied and he makes sure we aren’t either. So we have had good results in the defence, but there are definitely areas where we can still make small improvements and get even better. Across our whole game there were things we did well and things that we didn’t do so well. So we are looking to improve all aspects of our performance in the third Test, even the areas we did well in.

Q: The second Test was a ferocious game, was there a bit more niggle than usual?

LdJ – There was a little more niggle than usual but that was due to the magnitude of the game. The Lions also have very proud, world-class players. But I think the match was even bigger for us because we knew that if we lose, then we’re done for the series.

Q: So what can we expect from the third Test against a new-look Lions team?

LdJ – It’s going to be like a final for both teams. We are feeling much more comfortable after getting the win, but we know the job is not finished yet. We know we must raise our standards still further to get the final result we want. As I said, the Lions are a world-class team and we know that we have to be at our best, we know that we will absolutely have to give 100% of what we can give. The good thing is we know a lot of their players and we have done enough homework, everyone is ready, and we have to be able to adapt. It’s a must-win game for us and we can fall back on previous situations we’ve been in like the World Cup. When we are under pressure, we can say that we were there before and we came through. The Lions are all world-class players, but the focus is on ourselves and our week’s preparation. We have to make sure our system is functioning at 100% and when you see the impact the bench makes then you know that we are all on the same quality level. The Lions’ changes won’t change a lot in our preparation.

The spotlight is once again on the Springboks’ Covid protocols and the amount of lux shining on them will only be higher this time as Lood de Jager has now returned a positive Covid test, causing the team’s training on Monday to be cancelled and the entire squad returning to isolation.

SA rugby issued a statement on Monday confirming that lock De Jager, who is currently rehabilitating from a broken tibia, had tested positive and had had close contact with several members of the squad, leading to the complete shutdown of activities, pending the results of further PCR testing and a review by the Medical Advisory Group.

Monday’s positive test follows three players suffering the same fate the previous weekend. One of those tests – that of scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies – was later shown to be a false positive and he played off the bench in the first Test against Georgia, but Vincent Koch and S’bu Nkosi both had to go into quarantine and close contacts such as Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi were ruled out of last weekend’s match.

But on that occasion the Springboks were able to resume training on the Monday afternoon.

De Jager is one of the overseas-based players and was meant to be making progress in his rehabilitation to the extent that the management expected him to return to full training soon.

The desperately unfortunate 28-year-old will now have to be kept apart from the team he has worked so hard to rejoin.

The Springboks are meant to be playing the second Test against Georgia on Friday night, with the series against the British and Irish Lions starting on July 24.