DHL Stormer captain and Springbok lock Salmaan Moerat is injured, again.
The shocking news was broken at Monday’s Springbok matchday squad announcement by coach Rassie Erasmus, who revealed that Moerat suffered a meniscus (knee) injury during training with the Stormers ahead of next month’s start to the 2025/26 United Rugby Championship (URC) competition.
And it is now the third time that a troublesome knee issue has sidelined Moerat, although the seriousness of the latest blow is yet to be determined.
Boks lift lid on Moerat Injury
Erasmus revealed that Moerat was set to play for Western Province in a Round 4 Currie Cup Premier Division game against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein when he heard of the lock’s bad luck.
The Bok boss revealed:
We’ve cut the squad a little bit, but when we have meetings we still got guys like Jaden [Hendrikse], Faf [de Klerk], Mapiemps (Makazole Mapimpi) [joining] virtually. Salmaan, unfortunately, got injured last week. He would have played this week [for Western Province in the Currie Cup].
Western Province assistant coach Dewald Duvenhage also confirmed Moerat’s injury but was unable to elaborate on the extent of the blow.
But being the third time now that Moerat has suffered a knee injury, it will be concerning to the Stormers as they plan for the start of their URC campaign without their captain.
Stormers coach and director of rugby John Dobson will also feel a bit justified in his stance of not allowing some of his key players to play in the Currie Cup Premier Division.
Welfare of Players Critical
The injury also shines a spotlight on the player welfare of South African rugby’s top players who, in all honesty, don’t get much time to rest, no matter where they play in the world.
Just to put things into context, when a player like Bok captain Siya Kolisi’s duties in the Bok jersey for 2025 halt in November, he gets a few weeks off before exchanging green-and-gold for the black jersey of the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
And although rest protocols are worked in for players of national interest like Kolisi, Moerat, among others, the risk of season-ending injuries always seems to loom around the corner.
In the case of Moerat it seems as if bad luck in this department just seems to be following him like a monkey on his shoulder.
Especially having suffered a knee injury in 2022, then tearing a chest muscle in the following year on his return to play, before last year also having surgery on his bad knee that again saw him miss the start of the Stormers’ season and miss out on the Springboks’ November tour.
Global Alignment Can Promote Player Welfare
One option being explored by World Rugby to promote player welfare is a global season.
But this idea has faced backlash, particularly from New Zealand, which has made it clear that they won't support a move to have the Castle Lager Rugby Championship played in an earlier window, alongside the Northern Hemisphere’s Six Nations.
One other solution is for South African franchises to return to playing in Super Rugby, realigning the Southern Hemisphere’s big three teams.
But that would just be wishful thinking as the South African Rugby Union is quite happy with the deal it has struck with it’s Northern Hemisphere counterparts, where a bigger cut of broadcast rights will soon come into play when a new deal on participation in the URC gets completed.
Until then South African sides will have to find innovative ways to keep their best players fit and available, although injuries – at any stage – are part and parcel of the game.
