Bok Watch: Players in the Spotlight vs Italy

Quintin van Jaarsveld identifies five Springbok players who’ll be in the spotlight in Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Italy in Turin.

Salmaan Moerat

The most-talked-about, and frankly most maligned, selection for this weekend’s clash was Moerat, who’s set to play his first Test of 2026 after recovering from neck and toe injuries.

Calling the 28-year-old lock a polarising figure would be kind. Whether fairly or unfairly, most South African supporters don’t rate him, or at the very least, they feel there are a handful of other second-rowers better than him.

However, Rassie Erasmus has full faith in him, so much so that he’s handed him the captaincy on four occasions, and came out to bat for him after naming the team on Monday.

“I’m not going to say, like other countries, that we don’t get caught up in social media. I listen to social media,” said the Bok coach.

“I like South Africans who have opinions about things, and I’ve certainly seen it when Willie [le Roux] got slaughtered, and when Faf [de Klerk] was taken out, and then times when a guy made it against the odds.

“But I’ve never really listened to people who talk nonsense about Salmaan, because he’s not the kind of guy you see doing the flashy work on the field, and we don’t expect him to. We expect him to do what he always does for us.

“He’s been our captain four or five times, I’m not 100% sure, but I think he’s won every single time. We need a grinder, like a Jean Kleyn, like an RG Snyman. I think that’s a bit flashy as well, but it’s something we need in the team, and Salmaan brings it to us.”

Erasmus added: “Nobody probably understands how hard he scrums, how hard he mauls, how hard he cleans the ruck, how physical he is doing it, and how he stops mauls. You can never really explain that to people, but we’re not upset that people don’t see it.

“As long as Salmaan knows, and his teammates know, that we see it and that we value it. He’s the kind of guy we enjoy having in our team.

“When it comes to things people don’t understand or don’t see fully, I can understand why they have their opinions, but obviously we have our own opinion about someone.”

Even with Erasmus’ backing, Moerat remains a man with something to prove to the Bok fan base; thus, all eyes will be on him in what will be his 12th appearance in the Green and Gold.

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Morne van den Berg

Given the unrivalled depth of South African rugby, there’s no team with greater competition for places than the Boks.

Almost every position is stacked with world-class talent pushing each other in a healthy way for the honour of a starting role.

Erasmus regularly changes the team, so it’s not official or obvious, but there’s a real sense that Van den Berg has forced a change in the scrumhalf pecking order this year.

“Krappie” has had a breakthrough season, taking his opportunities with both hands, particularly during the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, and has seemingly moved ahead of Cobus Reinach as Erasmus’s preferred No. 9.

Saturday is another opportunity for the 28-year-old to continue his takeover.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Unlike his halfback partner, Mngomezulu has not had a great year in the Green and Gold.

Bok fans are hard to please, and when the drop-off from his otherworldly 2025 season to his average 2026 campaign is as steep as his is, the honeymoon period is over.

Again, is that fair? Who’s to say? As much as he’s trying to play off the criticism he’s been copping, it’s clear that it’s affecting the 24-year-old. The Bishops product has been guilty of trying to do too much, succeeding only in ramping up his error rate.

With no safety net in the form of Handre Pollard, who’ll miss the second leg of the Nations Championship through injury, the Boks need their generational talent to come good, and the clash against the Azzurri is an ideal one to do exactly that. For him at this juncture, simplicity is the key.

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Kurt-Lee Arendse

Contrary to popular belief, apex predators come in all shapes and sizes.

Standing just 1.76m tall and weighing just 80kg, Arendse is one of the most prolific try-scorers in world rugby and one of the best finishers in South African rugby history.

The 30-year-old flyer has scored 27 tries in 35 Tests, a ratio of 77.1%, placing him second on the all-time Bok efficiency list behind the iconic Danie Gerber.  

He’s scored a try in all but one of his five Test appearances this year and has dotted down three times in as many games against Italy, so chances are he’ll cross the whitewash again on Saturday.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels

I mentioned earlier that the Boks are spoiled for choice in just about every position. Just about.

Hooker is an area of concern for the double world champions. In Malcolm Marx, they have the reigning World Player of the Year, but behind him there’s no clear backup.

Bongi Mbonambi has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons and is still a ways away from possibly playing himself back into the national team, and there’s not a single other specialist hooker in the current squad.

Erasmus explained why Johan Grobbelaar was omitted and why utility forwards Wessels and Marco van Staden will provide cover at hooker. He admitted that “Grobbies doesn’t deserve not to be chosen,” but explained, “We were very honest in the conversations we always have with Grobbies; if I had to give the team man-of-the-year award to someone this year, it would be him.

“He was always in the team and worked his arse off to play, then a guy like Deon [Fourie] comes in and plays incredibly well against the All Blacks. Still, Grobbies helps with practice and everything … Then he gets a lekker chance in Australia, but then we all play poorly in the game, and everyone gives us a hard time.

“We feel like we know 100% where Grobbies is, but we don’t want to put Grobbies on a tour and Marco doesn’t get a chance. We know that Grobbies is there, Grobbies can go to the World Cup, but we’re going to bring the other two hookers. That’s just the way it is.”

Marx has already had a heavy workload this season, so it’s important that Wessels delivers when he comes on in the second half.