Multiple Premiership clubs are reportedly interested in signing Springboks and Stormers lock Salmaan Moerat.
The former South Africa u20s captain is a leader in the Stormers pack and is viewed as such with the Boks as well as he skippered the side on three occasions last year against Portugal, Australia and Argentina.
With his contract expiring at the end of the current season, the Stormers are eager to retain his services, but they are facing competition from Premiership clubs who are also interested in signing fellow Springbok Joseph Dweba.
Salmaan Moerat fields Premiership interest
According to Rapport’s sources, the Stormers will make offers to Moerat and Dweba in the next week or two with both players wanting to stay in Cape Town.
However, the interest from England could persuade the duo particularly the lock with the report stating that ‘more than one’ team is eager to add him to their payroll.
The Stormers are in a good position to retain Moerat in their squad next season as he is understood to be a player who benefits from the PONI (Player of National Interest) contracts which means that SA Rugby supplement his salary.
This means that the Stormers will be able to offer him a competitive salary but the same is no longer true for hooker Dweba who has fallen out of favour with the Springboks coaching team.
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The 29-year-old was the third-choice hooker for the Boks in the build to the 2023 Rugby World Cup but was not selected in the final squad for the tournament and when Malcolm Marx sustained an injury that ended his involvement, the coaching staff called up fly-half Handre Pollard.
He was also not one of the 50 players to represent the Springboks in 2024, with Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Andre-Hugo Venter all preferred by Rassie Erasmus.
This means that the Stormers won’t be able to offer as much of a competitive package with Sale Sharks reportedly keen on adding Dweba to their ranks.
Struggle to keep Dweba in Cape Town
Because Dweba currently benefits from a PONI contract, it is trickier for the Stormers to keep him on their books despite the hooker expressing his desire to remain at the club. He would more than likely need to take a pay cut to stay in Cape Town.
Rapport state that the front rower has turned down several overseas offers over the last few months as he attempts to stay at the Stormers.
While the new owners at the Stormers are not keen on splashing the cash on top players, the side are set to have a bit more financial flexibility with scrum-halves Hershell Jantjies and Paul de Wet joining Bayonne and the Bulls respectively.
Forward Hendre Stassen has also left the club to join French team Brive while there is doubt surrounding Steven Kitshoff’s career with the Bok prop seeing a specialist this week after undergoing neck surgery.
Latest reports have also rubbished Siya Kolisi’s potential return to the Stormers from the Sharks.
READ MORE: Siya Kolisi: Latest on Springboks captain’s Stormers return as Sharks throw spanner in the works
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/more-than-one-premiership-club-target-springboks-captain-while-stormers-struggle-to-retain-star-forwards-services
