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'I remember sitting with his dad in the office': The Springboks on the Lion that got away
Duhan van der Merwe is a Lions player who is set to attract much focus on this year’s tour against the Springboks, the South African-born Scotland recruit heading back to play in his homeland for the first time since he left the provincial Blue Bulls in 2016 and embarked on an adventure that took him to Edinburgh via a one-year Montpellier pit stop.
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The soon-to-be 26-year-old became Scottish-eligible last year under the three-year residency rule and he went on to enjoy a stellar first season under Gregor Townsend, playing in all ten of Scotland’s matches, starting nine and scoring eight tries – a tremendously impressive strike rate that caught the attention of Warren Gatland.
Van der Merwe will soon become a Worcester Warriors player, ex-Springboks assistant Alan Solomons tempting him to enlist for a stint in the Gallagher Premiership, and he will head to England fresh from participating in a Lions tour that could leave the Springboks to rue him as one that got away.
It was 2014 when van der Merwe had the ear of South African officials, the winger being a replacement in the Junior Springboks side defeated by a point in the U20s World Cup final in Auckland by an England side that featured current Test team talisman Maro Itoje along with Nick Tompkins and Billy Burns, who have since been respectively capped by Wales and Ireland.
In time, van der Merwe would also switch allegiance and his imminent return to South Africa to take on his native country was a talking point willingly embraced this week by Rassie Erasmus, the Springboks director of rugby.
The reasons van der Merwe has gone and bagged himself an all-expenses trip home?#LionsRugby #Lions2021 #Lions
https://t.co/G5PjRSGKFX— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 7, 2021
“Jacques (Nienaber, Boks head coach) was the high-performance manager in SA Rugby and he was helping all the teams and the Junior Springboks fell under him. He [van der Merwe] was in the Handre Pollard team that played in New Zealand and lost in the final, so we know him pretty well. I remember sitting with him and his dad in the office discussing his future in 7s and I remember him having trials at the 7s. He played SA schools, SA U20s and I remember sitting with his dad in the office and getting him into the 7s set-up and remember him trialling with the 7s.
“Not sure why he didn’t make that or what his decision was after that or did he want to go into the 15s game? He has come the full path in SA Rugby and we are not at all in the mindset of because he is not playing here, he doesn’t deserve to play anywhere else.
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“We feel that if a guy goes over there, like CJ Stander or whoever, good for him. The way he [van der Merwe] has played nobody can argue, and it’s weird in a way – we are proud of him but when we play against him it is going to be tough. We are happy for him. We know him really well and he would obviously know most of our guys fairly well.”
What the Springboks have been enthusiastically saying about the South African find of Leicester's season #WORvLEI #Springboks #Lions2021 #LionsRugbyhttps://t.co/KjFKA7Sn9s
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 29, 2021
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
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