Scotland’s major strike weapons are all primed for autumn deployment, but in which combination and what order? Greater depth of quality brings harder selection calls.
One Gregor Townsend has not really had to make for the last two years is on the wing. For reasons of injury to one or another, plus Lions call-ups, all three of Scotland’s A-list wide men have not been available at the same time.
Darcy Graham missed two successive Six Nations campaigns in 2023 and 2024, when Kyle Steyn stepped into his No.14 jersey with aplomb. Steyn missed last year’s autumn Tests and this year’s Six Nations with untimely injuries. While Duhan van der Merwe was on Lions duty this summer, Graham and Steyn both started Scotland’s Test against Fiji before Graham joined Van der Merwe with the Lions.
So a tricky decision is looming for Townsend. Maybe as early as next week if all three are declared fit to face the USA in the first of Scotland’s four autumn Tests at Murrayfield. If not, likely the following week, when the All Blacks are in town.
“We’ve said to the wingers there’s open competition for who starts,” Townsend said. “It’d be great if they’re all available by the time we get into these games. We’ve got real depth there now. Players will bring their own individual strengths.”
At the 2023 World Cup, it was Graham and Van der Merwe given the nod for the two biggest games against South Africa and Ireland. Steyn edged out Graham against Tonga, but after the bouncing Borderer scored four tries in a free hit against Romania, it was Steyn omitted for the final pool game against the Irish.
Will that be the case again over the next month? Kyle Rowe has also been an impressive performer for Scotland over the past two years, while the pace of Sale flyer Arron Reed offers another option in the squad announced on Tuesday. But for the crunch autumn games against New Zealand and Argentina, it seems likely to be two of three from Graham, Steyn and Van der Merwe, barring any late calamities on the fitness front.
The Edinburgh duo both had injury scares against Benetton last Friday – Graham banged a knee early on but played on for the entire game, Van der Merwe trudged off with a bruised heel early in the second half – but are still “taking part in bits of training” this week, even if their participation in Saturday’s game against Cardiff is unclear.
Darcy’s angles of running before he gets the ball are very hard to pick up and his angles of running when he gets the ball and his strength to get out of tackles is up there with the best in the world.
Is it really feasible to imagine Townsend willingly choosing to do without either one of Scotland’s two leading try-scorers of all time? Let’s just remind ourselves of what he would be forgoing if so.
The strike rates of Van der Merwe – 32 tries in 49 Tests, at 0.653 tries per game – and Graham – 31 tries in 47 Tests (0.659 per game) – are almost identical. Not quite Will Jordan territory perhaps, but only a shade below Damian Penaud.
When Graham helped himself to four tries against Fiji 12 months ago on his return to the Test scene to briefly draw level with Van der Merwe, only for the big man to then score himself to nudge ahead again, Townsend revelled in the “living history” the deadly duo were creating in continually improving a record that the late Ian Smith held for 73 years from 1925 until Tony Stanger equalled it in 1998, before Stuart Hogg surpassed it in 2021 and then the current little and large combo took over.
“Now we’re seeing it broken every game or every other game that those two are playing,” purred Townsend, praising Graham’s particular brand of impish brilliance. “Darcy scores different types of tries. His angles of running before he gets the ball are very hard to pick up and his angles of running when he gets the ball and his strength to get out of tackles is up there with the best in the world.”
That ability to evade and bounce away from opponents, even when they think they have him collared, was in evidence again last Friday.
Having managed to shake off that worrying early knock, the 28-year-old produced a trademark magic moment just before the interval. Despite being tight to the right touchline when he received Liam McConnell’s offload, Graham stood up Rhyno Smith almost on the spot, shimmying round the Benetton wing and stretching over to touch down in the corner, all in the same dizzying movement.
When he later received a pass out wide on halfway with only one defender left ahead of him, there was little doubt about the outcome as he hared away to collect his second try of the night and third in two matches, capping a display full of courage, energy and elan.
Earlier, there was a similar sense of inevitability about Van der Merwe’s opening score when presented with a clear run to the left corner in the fifth minute, the giant wing swiftly slipping through the gears to scorch over.
But if celebrating his first try of the campaign was a welcome sight after a quiet start, it didn’t provide lift-off for the big man. There was one show of power where he stepped off his wing to get Edinburgh on the front foot, but that was one of only four carries in his 44 minutes on the pitch before he trooped off.
If there is a clear danger of reading too much into one game, consider Van der Merwe’s output compared with his fellow wings in recent weeks. His first game of the season, a 29-minute replacement outing against Zebre, yielded three carries, one of which made 40-odd metres. His second against Munster, a full 80 minutes, produced four. So 11 carries in 153 minutes of rugby for one of world rugby’s most feared open-field runners, and one line-break.
Of course, wingers are partly dependent on players inside them putting them into space and positions to create havoc, but Graham seems more adept at inserting himself into games and making things happen. On Friday he managed 12 carries in his 80 minutes (with two line-breaks), and eight the previous week (one line-break), so 20 carries in two games. That averages out as the target both players set for double figures in every game.
Steyn can put both Edinburgh men in the shade. In his three games this season, the Glasgow captain was their top carrier with 16 against Benetton, made 13 more against Dragons and eight in Saturday’s win over Ospreys, when he also made three line-breaks to take his tally to seven in those three games, also weighing in with two tries.
He is safe – you never look at Kyle and think anything is going to go wrong, it is always under control – and he also scores at a phenomenal rate.
Former Scotland wing Tommy Seymour, no slouch in getting over the line himself, made the point to this writer a year ago about Steyn’s all-round skillset when considering his merits compared to “freak of nature” Van der Merwe and “absolute workhorse” Graham.
“Kyle is probably seen as a bit less flashy than the other two but sometimes we forget about all the things Kyle brings,” Seymour said. “His defence is rock-solid, his awareness and communication are phenomenal. He is safe – you never look at Kyle and think anything is going to go wrong, it is always under control – and he also scores at a phenomenal rate.”
With 14 tries in 25 Tests, a strike-rate of 0.56 per match, not quite as phenomenal as Graham and Van der Merwe perhaps, but not too shabby nonetheless.
It is those cumulative impacts that Steyn makes on a game that may tempt Townsend to depart from his established wing duopoly. That and his supreme athletic and aerial ability to chase contestable kicks, generally either winning the ball cleanly or getting a hand to it to give his side a chance to regain possession.
“I’m probably a little bit biased when I talk about our players but when I see how he trains and what he does to build his game, I’ll never question Kyle’s work-rate on the field,” said Glasgow attack coach Nigel Carolan last week. “It is phenomenal but he also backs that up; he’s a great finisher and his high-ball skills are amongst the best around.
“That’s become so important now that they’ve made room for the chase and the contest for the high ball, so he works really hard at that. I think that’s one area he has the edge over his Edinburgh counterparts.”
Certainly it was hard to disagree watching the 6ft 4in Van der Merwe chasing a series of on-the-money, contestable kicks from scrum-half Charlie Shiel on Friday evening.
The 30-year-old barely managed to get off the ground to make a real contest of any of them. Timing is essential of course and the chaser must be hyper-careful these days not to go up too early to avoid the possibility of taking out the catcher in the air, with a penalty and possible yellow card to follow.
Perhaps Van der Merwe was feeling the effects of his sore heel and proceeding cautiously. But he looks like he is still feeling his way back to form after a Lions tour on which he finished top try-scorer with five from five games (four starts and one 30-minute outing as a replacement), but never really threatened to claim the Test No.11 jersey he wore three times in South Africa four years earlier, even with main rival James Lowe experiencing an uneven tour himself.
In mitigation, it was always going to be a tough ask for Van der Merwe to hit the ground running with the Lions, having not played for 12 weeks previously following an ankle injury which required surgery. His comeback was the tourists’ pre-departure loss to Argentina in Dublin and he looked understandably rusty, with questions immediately raised about his defensive prowess, particularly under the high ball, which the Pumas exploited.
It is an area Townsend also highlighted on Tuesday when assessing the form Steyn brings into this autumn series.
The 31-year-old, who missed the last November campaign when also in fine fettle and then the Six Nations with another untimely injury, was twice used by Scotland at outside centre on the 2024 summer tour of the Americas, once off the bench against Canada and then from the start against Chile.
The Duhan and Darcy double act may continue lighting up arenas for a few years yet… but Steyn’s weekly excellence is demanding a place on the bill, sooner rather than later.
With Huw Jones missing until the New Year following post-Lions surgery, might the head coach be tempted to start all three of Graham, Van der Merwe and Steyn, with the latter at 13, in their opening Test against the USA on 1 November?
Not especially, it seems. Steyn can certainly provide cover for a position he has also played sporadically for Glasgow, but the claims of club-mates Stafford McDowall and Ollie Smith are more likely to be rewarded for the Eagles fixture, with Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson coming into the mix against New Zealand.
“He [Steyn] would maybe be more of an option to cover, but I just think he’s playing so well on the wing, he’s in outstanding form,” Townsend explained.
“The game has changed and evolved the last 12 months with the competition in the air and Kyle’s world-class in that area. You take that away being in the centre, whereas obviously on the wing you’re getting those opportunities. That’s the area we want him to focus on.”
Discussion over who fills the 14 and 11 shirts may take up more time than usual in next week’s selection meeting.
Ultimately, Van der Merwe – who has physical attributes none of the others can offer – may still be awarded the 50th cap of a Test career in which he has provided Scotland with some sensational ‘wow’ moments, particularly against England.
Assuming Graham did nothing untoward to his knee last week, the fleet-footed Borderer is probably still marginal favourite to don the No.14 jersey, too.
The Duhan and Darcy double act may continue lighting up arenas for a few years yet, two club-mates duking it out for the honour of finishing at the top of Scotland’s try-scoring charts. But Steyn’s weekly excellence is demanding a place on the bill, sooner rather than later.
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