'I knew nothing about Edinburgh. I didn't even know it was in Scotland. I'd never really heard of it'
If you’d given 21-year-old Duhan van der Merwe a map and a marker pen and asked him to circle Edinburgh – even to sketch a line around the right continent – the enormous winger would have been hopelessly flummoxed.
It is not that van der Merwe has a blind spot for geography, only that the Scottish capital did not register the tiniest blip on his radar until the summer of 2017 when Richard Cockerill got in touch and a contract offer landed in his inbox.
“I knew nothing about Edinburgh, mate,” he told RugbyPass. “Nothing at all. I didn’t even know Edinburgh existed. I didn’t know where it was, I didn’t even know it was in Scotland. I’d never really heard of it.”
At the time, van der Merwe was coming to the end of a one-year stint among Montpellier’s galacticos. He had played barely any senior rugby, only a handful of Top 14 outings, but done enough to convince Cockerill there was a heck of a talent longing to be unleashed.
This was the starting point for the hulking poster boy of Edinburgh’s backline, a 6ft 4in, 106kg South African show-stopper with swollen arms, thick blonde thatch and the sort of exhilarating game to jolt you off your seat.
(Continue reading below…)
In two years at the club, he averages a try every other match. He has gobbled up an eye-watering yardage count, places among the most prolific PRO14 breakers of tackles and is firmly up there with the continent’s premier strike threats.
Van der Merwe is blooming now, but that he is here at all is down to his elder brother Akker, a rambunctious Springbok hooker who joined Sale Sharks in the summer.
At 15, the younger van der Merwe was ready to jack it in, fed up of his gangling frame and fearful he would never gain the beef required to fill it out. By 18, he had won SA schools, Baby Boks caps and a place in the Blue Bulls set-up, but had seriously injured both knees.
This man has been on FIRE so far this season 🔥@duhanvdmerwe bagged himself a trio of tries for @EdinburghRugby against @scarlets_rugby in Round 4 👏
Could he be the top scorer in all competitions this year? 👀 pic.twitter.com/14oKpMvvML
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) November 20, 2019
“I was always the smaller guy, small and skinny. I said to my brother, ‘Nah, I’m just going to focus on athletics and play some hockey’. He told me to stick it out. He always pushed me, told me it was going to work out. He took me to the gym, I picked up a lot of weight, and I really look up to him.
“Getting both knees done at 18… I’m a winger; I’m thinking, where’s my speed going to go? You get back and you get another injury, another injury, and it obviously knocks your confidence. I was injured for 16-18 months of my first two years at the Bulls. You never get the opportunity to even train with the senior boys because you’re not out there proving yourself.
“The same happened to my brother. He went out of school, broke his leg, and for four years was just injured, injured, injured. He got his degree, went to the Lions, and since then has had an amazing career.
https://twitter.com/Akker_vd_Merwe/status/1056233267781947392
“He used to bully me when we were kids. He’d call me out to the garden to play touch rugby and all of a sudden just bump me on my back and stand there laughing. When I actually started to get some muscle on me, I said, ‘One day, I’ll get you back’. I don’t know when that’ll be – it’ll probably have to wait until he’s 50 or 60.”
Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of rivals scrapping for minutes in the Bulls age-grades, van der Merwe began to doubt himself. He also grew weary of a system he saw as cynical. The bigger franchises, he felt, were playing a numbers game – hoovering up as many prospects as they could and gambling that at least a few would become stars.
“They’ve got so many boys to choose from, so many boys,” he said. “Straight after school, you’ve got unions… that was sometimes the problem. I’ve seen it happen where they’ll sign 55 of the best boys. Well, only 23 can play. Some of them are not even playing anymore.
Wingers are grinners 😁😁 pic.twitter.com/u0PG5cyIeb
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) December 16, 2018
“If they maybe went a different route, went to a smaller union, they’d have had an opportunity. Some of them don’t even get an opportunity. Sometimes they leave to a different union, they start playing, and all of a sudden it’s like, this guy’s unreal. The numbers are mad.
“As you get it older, it just gets harder and harder and harder because there are youngsters coming in the whole time and you still have to compete with boys older than you, internationals and all that. I was just going through a period where I didn’t back myself.”
It was at Montpellier where he found his mojo. Playing time was lean, but Scott Wisemantel, Eddie Jones’ attack coach, poured hours of extra drills into him. The giants in his midst urged him on. “It was a nice learning year for me, playing with Bismarck du Plesiss, Nemani Nadolo, Frans Steyn, Jan Serfontein, all those boys.
“I’m not sure Leicester have decided where they’re at"
Cockerill talks Tigers https://t.co/qSsVzqqL8G
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 27, 2019
“That’s what kept me going. Frans Steyn used to say, ‘You’ve got good speed and strength, back yourself, run at people’. It was very cool. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go there expecting to start every game. You look at all those boys they’re signing and you’re thinking, do I really have a shot here?
“Getting the opportunity to come to Edinburgh, that’s where my career started. I would have liked it to start earlier than when I was turning 22. I was still young, but my career started here at Edinburgh when Richard Cockerill backed me.”
The next six months are monumental. Some seriously big decisions loom. By July, van der Merwe’s contract will be up and he will have lived in Scotland long enough to become eligible for the national team. Negotiations have begun over a new deal and the likelihood is that he will sign it.
The @PRO14Official is the international coaching market's primary pipeline https://t.co/3qL86fbwpI
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 27, 2019
Inevitably, given the kind of rugby he has been playing, talk of Scotland caps will be rife. The national coaches have not been in touch, but you would have to imagine they have been watching him very closely. And of course, should the stars align, van der Merwe would qualify just in time for Scotland’s tour of South Africa. The country he barely knew existed against the world champions for whom he longed to play.
“If that was to happen, that would be strange, but it would be an awesome opportunity to show as a player what you’re about after leaving the country. I’m looking to play at the highest level possible, otherwise what am I playing for? When that opportunity comes, I’ll grab it with both hands.
“I’d love to think that I can make a difference (at international level). I’d like to think I can cause damage. Because when you play Champions Cup, you play against international boys and you think, well I’ve actually done alright. So I’d love to test myself if that opportunity comes.”
ICYMI: Our team to face @WaspsRugby at BT Murrayfield this evening.
🔄 JJ and George in midfield
👱♂️ @Darcy_Graham returns
7⃣ changes in total🎟 » https://t.co/eYThjXxzpS pic.twitter.com/swiB7M76NS
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) December 6, 2019
For now, all of that can wait. Cockerill has rolled out his big guns for the Challenge Cup visit of Wasps this Friday, and will, as he is fond of saying go ‘full-metal-jacket’ when they collide with a Glasgow team that seems to be losing its way over the PRO14 festive period.
Last year, Edinburgh didn’t quite have the cattle to sustain a challenge on two fronts. They topped their Champions Cup pool but limped over the line in the league and as a result were booted into Europe’s second tier.
Cockerill has grown the squad, his go-to men are fit and his attack has extra gears it could not find at vital moments in the previous campaign. Edinburgh sit at the summit of their Challenge Cup section and only two points off the pace in PRO14 Conference B.
💬 "It's obviously my job to score tries. I'd love to score a couple tonight – hopefully it goes well!"@duhanvdmerwe is back in the No.1⃣1⃣ jersey this evening as we face @UBBrugby.
🎟️ » https://t.co/XZb4TA4uHC pic.twitter.com/7WV8kiR4xb
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) November 22, 2019
“The past two years, we used the forwards up, used the forwards up, then box kicked and put pressure on, which worked. As a backline, you weren’t getting many touches,” explained van der Merwe. “Now, we have got a different game plan. You as a winger need to be more of a ball player now – you can’t just stand on the edge and run it. You have to use your brain, pass, make good decisions under pressure.
“Every single guy in the backline has good X-factor. That’s what we want to try and use more. Now we have got a backline that can cause damage and a forwards pack that can cause a lot of damage, so teams now are thinking, ‘Oh s**t, which way are they going to play?’
“We’re going to try and win the Challenge Cup and get into the semi-finals, even the final of the PRO14. Last year, we maybe couldn’t rotate as much. This year, you can rotate 15 boys and the quality doesn’t drop. We can attack both tournaments this season and see if we can win the PRO14, because we have definitely got the squad to do it.”
WATCH: Scott Robertson’s moment of truth awaits as his All Blacks interview looms
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments