- New Stormers captain Salmaan Moerat says leading the Cape side has been "a long dream" of his.
- The 23-year-old takes the captain's armband for their preparation series encounter against the Bulls in Pretoria.
- Moerat adds that he'll try lead by example "instead of talking a lot".
Salmaan Moerat's elevation to the Stormers captaincy is the realisation of a lifelong dream, the player revealed on Wednesday.
The burly lock will lead the Stormers when they tackle the Bulls in a preparation series encounter in Pretoria on Friday evening.
While addressing reporters during an online media briefing on Wednesday, Moerat said it was a "massive honour" to lead the Stormers in a derby game against their arch-rivals.
"It's been a long dream of mine to captain this team. I'm thankful to be given the opportunity this weekend. I'm a homegrown boy, grew up in the Western Cape and obviously my family [has] played a massive role within the rugby circles.
"It's been quite some time since I've captained a team but I'm really excited for what lies ahead, I've got a good group of leaders around me who are making the job a lot easier than what it is. But I'm really looking forward to what lies ahead," he said.
Moerat was schooled at Paarl Boys' High and captained their First XV when they were the top schools team in the country. He also led the Western Province Craven Week side, as well as the South African Schools team and was also the leader of the Junior Springboks after leaving school.
When probed on what type of leader he was, the 23-year-old replied: "Ever since I've had the opportunity of captaining [a side] I've always tended to kind of lead by example instead of talking a lot.
"I'll just try focus on my game... if I can play well, or at least contribute in the game... that makes my job a lot easier. I think I'll just try stick to that and hopefully the guys will follow."
Looking ahead to facing the Bulls, Moerat said the players were determined to make their mark at Loftus.
"The guys are really excited for this weekend. We know what the outcome is that we want. We also know what the bigger picture is."
Moerat added that the Stormers had made "steady progress" since the start of the preparation series.
"There's a lot of players that took their opportunities and are keen to get going again."
The Stormers opened their account with a 34-33 loss to the Cheetahs in Cape Town, before beating Griquas 38-32 in Kimberley.
Friday's match kicks off at 19:00.
Teams:
Bulls
15 Richard Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Nizaam Carr (captain), 7 Werner Gouws, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Janko Swanepoel, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Joe van Zyl, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Substitutes (from): 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Jan Uys, 20 Tim Agaba, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Diego Appollis, 24 Nolan Pienaar, 25 Raynard Roets, 26 Marnus Potgieter
Stormers
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 David Meihuizen, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Leon Lyons
Substitutes (from): 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Johan du Toit, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Tim Swiel, 24 Chris Schreuder, 25 Cornel Smit