Ex-Scotland 10 makes previously unthinkable Duhan van der Merwe call

Former Scotland fly-half Ruaridh Jackson has asserted that Glasgow Warriors winger Kyle Steyn is a better player than Duhan van der Merwe and should start ahead of him for Scotland.

Steyn led Glasgow Warriors to an unexpected United Rugby Championship title win this season, defeating the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in the final on Saturday a week after beating then-reigning champions Munster at Thomond Park.

The 30-year-old has been magnificent for the Warriors since returning from injury in January, which led to Jackson making this comparison between the two players on X, saying the only thing van der Merwe can do better is “score the odd freak try”.

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There is no denying that 2021 British & Irish Lions wing possesses that oft-overused ‘X-factor’ in Test rugby standing at 1.93m and weighing 106kg, and he has a highlights reel to back that up.

While the fellow South African-born Scot does not have a highlights reel to rival the Edinburgh wing’s, there are few, if any, weaknesses in his game.

Something I’ve said for a long time but wonder if more people agree now. Kyle Steyn is better than Duhan VDM. Only thing VDM can do better is score the odd freak try.

Scotland back 3 should be Darcy, Steyn, kinghorn and bring VDM on against tired defences.

— Ruaridh Jackson (@ruaridh_jackson) June 23, 2024

“Something I’ve said for a long time but wonder if more people agree now,” the 33-cap Scot wrote on X.

“Kyle Steyn is better than Duhan VDM. Only thing VDM can do better is score the odd freak try.

“Scotland back 3 should be Darcy, Steyn, kinghorn and bring VDM on against tired defences.”

Of course, there are two wing berths that can be shared between Steyn and van der Merwe for Scotland, as they did for much of the Six Nations this year. However, Jackson believes the other spot should be taken by Darcy Graham, with van der Merwe being used from the bench to exploit tired defences.

Graham’s pace and agility make him just as potent as van der Merwe out wide, so Scotland would not be lacking in individual brilliance should Gregor Townsend follow Jackson’s advice. He has, however, been beset by injuries recently and will miss Scotland’s July tour as he recovers from surgery to his groin, meaning Jackson will not get to see his preferred back three of Graham, Steyn and Blair Kinghorn at fullback.

Scotland’s upcoming July series, against Canada, the USA, Chile and Uruguay, perhaps affords Townsend the opportunity to experiment more than he usually would during a Test window, meaning it may not even be Steyn and van der Merwe starting on either flank.

The uncapped Arron Reed will surely get plenty of game time over the coming weeks to prove what he can do, as will the four-cap Kyle Rowe and the one-cap Harry Paterson in the back three.

Van der Merwe has been a mainstay of the Scotland line-up in recent seasons, but with Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia visiting in November, Townsend will want to field his preferred back three and it will be interesting to see if van der Merwe is part of it.