Springbok injury update after big win over Italy

The Springboks got the first of their Nations Championship Northern Series matches off to a perfect start as they roared to a rewarding 66-7 victory against Italy on Saturday.

However, before kick off, Salmaan Moerat was forced to withdraw from the starting team, denying him the opportunity to make his first Test appearance of 2026.

Lood de Jager ended up starting the match, while Franco Mostert slotted in on the bench, and Rassie Erasmus admitted it was not a waiting game to see how Moerat recovers.

“Salmaan had a little bit of a back spasm on Thursday, but we thought it would clear up,” said Erasmus.

“He looked good at the captain’s practice, but unfortunately in the warm-up he got more back spasms, so hopefully it’s not too serious. He’s the only casualty we have from the game. I don’t think there are any other serious injuries.”

Mostly good news for the Springboks

Erasmus confirmed that there were no other serious injuries from the match, although young flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed continues to struggle with a sore shoulder.

The Springboks next face France this weekend, and Erasmus called for further improvement for the team despite the big win over Italy.

“It’s almost impossible to put 80 minutes together at 100%. Obviously, we’re not happy with the second half. We scored 45 points in the first half, and the final score was 66, so we got another 21 points in the second half.

“Italy are a proud team, and despite being 45 points down, they started running the ball from everywhere, while we also made some changes that we wanted to see, and with that one loses a bit of rhythm. But when you win 66–7, I don’t think you can start nitpicking problems in the second half. It wasn’t perfect, but it was proper.

“That said, we have to play much better than this if we want to be competitive against France and Ireland. But it’s nice to know that after being a month away from one other, the boys got together and played like that.”

NEXT TESTS

• Friday 13 November: France v Boks
  • Venue: Stade de France, Paris
  • Kick off: 22:10
• Saturday 21 November: Ireland v Boks
  • Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
  • Kick off: 18:40
• 27–29 November: Finals Weekend
  • Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
  • Kick off: TBC