Wikipedia

Duhan van der Merwe

Duhan van der Merwe (born 4 June 1995) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship and the Scotland national team. He represents Scotland having qualified on residency grounds.

Duhan van der Merwe
van der Merwe representing Montpellier during the Top 14
Date of birth (1995-06-04) 4 June 1995 (age 29)
Place of birthGeorge, South Africa
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight106 kg (234 lb; 16 st 10 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Outeniqua
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Notable relative(s)Akker van der Merwe (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Current team Edinburgh
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 Blue Bulls 2 (0)
2016–2017 Montpellier 4 (15)
2017–2021 Edinburgh 67 (163)
2021–2022 Worcester Warriors 17 (40)
2022– Edinburgh 20 (40)
Correct as of 16 March 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014 South Africa U20 2 (0)
2020– Scotland 43 (145)
2021 British & Irish Lions 3 (0)
Correct as of 11 November 2024

Van der Merwe's rugby journey started in George, South Africa, playing for Outeniqua High School before gaining provincial recognition in youth tournaments. He impressed at the Craven Week, earning a spot on the South Africa Schools team and excelling in the Under-18 International Series.

Transitioning to the professional level, he joined the Blue Bulls' academy in 2014 and make his mark with the South Africa under-20 squad at the World Rugby U20 Championship. He continued to shine domestically with the Blue Bulls and UP Tuks, leading as a top scorer in the Varsity Cup. His international career began when he became eligible for Scotland in 2020, and he has since represented the nation in the Six Nations Championship and the Rugby World Cup, becoming their all-time top try scorer in 2024.[1]

Early life

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Van der Merwe was born and grew up in George in the Western Cape province of South Africa. He attended and played rugby for Outeniqa High School (Hoërskool Outeniqua), earning several provincial colours by representing the SWD Eagles at youth tournaments. In 2011, he represented SWD [South Western Districts] at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in Queenstown, appearing in all three matches and scoring a try in their 25–8 victory over KwaZulu-Natal.[2]

The following year, he played for SWD at the premier schoolboy rugby tournament in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week. He scored four tries – two against the Limpopo Blue Bulls[3] and two against Western Province[4] – at the tournament held in Port Elizabeth. He was named in the South Africa Schools team at the conclusion of the tournament,[5] and made two starts for them in the Under-18 International Series, helping them to victories over France[6] and England.[7]

Still eligible for the Under-18s in 2013, van der Merwe again played in all three of SWD's matches at the Craven Week held in Polokwane. He scored three tries – two against Eastern Province[8] and one in a victory over the Blue Bulls[9] – and was again included in the South African Schools team.[10] He scored a try in their 19–14 victory over England in their first match of the 2013 Under-18 International Series,[11] and followed that up with two tries in their next match against France.[12] He didn't score in their final match against Wales,[13][14] but still finished as the top try scorer in the competition.

He also played rugby sevens, where he represented South Africa.[15]

Club career

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Youth

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After high school, van der Merwe moved to Pretoria, where he joined the Blue Bulls' academy for the 2014 season.[16]

He returned to domestic action to play for the Blue Bulls U19 team in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He made twelve starts in the competition and scored a total of eight tries, the second-highest by a Blue Bulls player and joint-third overall in Group A of the competition.[17] After scoring a single try in matches against Sharks U19[18] and Western Province U19,[19] he scored two tries against the Leopards U19 in a 52–27 win.[20] Another try in their second meeting against Western Province[21] was followed by a hat-trick in a 46–24 victory over the Leopards in Potchefstroom.[22] The helped his side finish top of the log[23] and make it all the way to the final of the competition before losing to Western Province.[24] In addition to his appearance for the Under-19 team, he also played one match for the Blue Bulls U21 side, in a 24–10 victory over Free State U21.[25]

He had an operation at the start of 2015, which ruled him out of action for the majority of the season, also ruling him out of contention with a second consecutive Under 20 Championship.[26] He returned to action for the Blue Bulls U21s, making six starts in the Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring one try in their 43–10 victory over Eastern Province U21.[27]

At the start of 2016, he played Varsity Cup rugby with UP Tuks, starting all eight of their matches. He scored tries in defeats to NWU Pukke[28] and UFS Shimlas[29] and scored two tries in their 68–25 victory over CUT Ixias.[30] In their final match of the regular season against bottom team UCT Ikey Tigers, Van der Merwe scored six of his side's eleven tries in a 100–25 victory.[31] With bonus points in effect for scoring tries that originated outside the final 22, Van der Merwe's point haul in the match was a massive 48 points and he finished the competition as the top try scorer[32] and the fourth-highest points scorer.

After the Varsity Cup, van der Merwe made his domestic first class debut for the Blue Bulls in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series. He made an appearance as a replacement in a 14–19 defeat to the Eastern Province Kings,[33] and made his first start a week later against the Pumas,[34] which would be his final action in a Blue Bulls shirt.

Montpellier

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He moved to France in July 2016 to join Top 14 side Montpellier, signing a youth contract with the team.[35] He made his debut for the senior team in their Round 15 match against Pau, replacing Joffrey Michel.[36] A recurring hip injury, and difficulties adjusting to the culture and language, meant he gained little game time.[37]

Edinburgh

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Van der Merwe signed a two-year professional contract with Scottish Pro14 side Edinburgh ahead of the 2017–18 season.[38] He failed his medical due to a long-standing hip injury, but Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill signed him despite this.[39] The injury meant he missed half of his first season. However, his impact afterwards was strong. One area of improvement was seeking to get more involved in the game, from his wing position.[40]

Worcester Warriors

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On 4 January 2021, it was announced that Van der Merwe would move to England to sign for Worcester Warriors ahead of the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby season on a long-term deal.[41] Due to the club entering administration all Warriors players had their contracts terminated on 5 October 2022.[42]

Only hours after having his contract terminated at Worcester Warriors it was confirmed that Van der Merwe would return to Edinburgh on a long-term deal.[43]

International career

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South Africa U20

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Van der Merwe was a late call-up to the South Africa Under-20 squad that participated at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand,[44] replacing Rohan Janse van Rensburg who picked up an injury in South Africa's 61–5 victory against Scotland in the opening round in Pool C.[45] Van der Merwe was an unused replacement for their 33–24 victory over hosts New Zealand in their second match,[46] but started their final pool match, a 21–8 victory over Samoa[47] to help the team finish top of their pool to progress to the semi-finals. He didn't feature in their 32–25 win over New Zealand at that stage,[48] but was named on the bench for the final against England and came on as a replacement in the second half, with South Africa losing 20–21[49] to finish as runners-up in the competition.

Scotland

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Van der Merwe became available for the Scottish international rugby team in Summer 2020. This was based on residency having then lived in Scotland for 3 years since he joined Edinburgh in 2017.[50] He made his international debut for Scotland against Georgia on 23 October 2020, scoring a try in the process.[51] [52] He doubled his test try-scoring tally on 14 November, touching down one of Scotland's four tries in Florence during victory over Italy.[53] then adding another in Dublin on 5 December.

Van der Merwe scored the decisive try in Scotland's victory over England in the opening match of the 2021 Six Nations Championship.[54] The following month he scored a further two tries against Italy in a 52-10 victory.[55] This was followed by another brace in the final match of the championship in Paris, the second coming in 84th minute of play to secure a dramatic last-gasp win, Scotland's first in France since 1999.[56] This brought his tally to eight tries in his first ten test matches.

Van der Merwe was selected in Scotland's 33-player squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France;[57] however, they exited the tournament in the pool stage, failing to beat both Ireland and South Africa.

Van der Merwe was then selected for the 2024 Six Nations Championship. He scored his first Scotland hat-trick against England, after scoring two in the opener against Wales.

Van der Merwe was selected for the Scotland team's Skyscanner Americas Tour in the summer of 2024, his two tries on that tour against USA and Uruguay, saw him overtake Stuart Hogg as the scorer of the most international tries for Scotland.[58]

British & Irish Lions

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In May 2021, van der Merwe was selected in the 37-man squad for the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.[59]

He took to the field in the opening warm-up match against Japan at Murrayfield, scoring a try in the process and becoming Lion #841.[60] After performing well in the tour's warm up games, scoring five tries in four appearances, he was selected in the starting line up for the first Test and played 70 minutes as the Lions won 17-22.[61][62] He subsequently played the full 80 minutes of both the second and third Tests as well.[63][64]

Personal life

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van der Merwe and his wife Nika married in 2023.[65][66]

van der Merwe is the younger brother of Akker van der Merwe, also a professional rugby union player who plays at hooker.[67]

Career statistics

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List of international tries

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 23 October 2020 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Georgia 39–7 48–7 2020 end-of-year rugby union internationals
2 14 November 2020 Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy   Italy 5–6 28–17 Autumn Nations Cup
3 5 December 2020 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland   Ireland 14–18 16–31 Autumn Nations Cup
4 6 February 2021 Twickenham Stadium, London, England   England 8–3 11–6 2021 Six Nations Championship
5 20 March 2021 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Italy 10–7 52–10 2021 Six Nations Championship
6 50–10
7 26 March 2021 Stade de France, Paris, France   France 5–3 27–23 2021 Six Nations Championship
8 25–23
9 26 June 2021 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Japan 12–0 28–10 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa
10 20 November 2021 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Japan 5–0 29–20 2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals
11 26 February 2022 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   France 15–36 17–36 2022 Six Nations Championship
12 16 July 2022 Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina   Argentina 5–3 31–34 2022 mid-year rugby union tests
13 26–13
14 5 November 2022 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Fiji 19–12 28–12 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals
15 19 November 2022 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Argentina 12–7 52–29 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals
16 4 February 2023 Twickenham Stadium, London, England   England 12–5 29–23 2023 Six Nations Championship
17 27–23
18 18 March 2023 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Italy 5–3 26–14 2023 Six Nations Championship
19 12 August 2023 Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France   France 15–27 27–30 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
20 26 August 2023 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Georgia 5–6 33–6 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
21 33–6
22 24 September 2023 Stade de Nice, Nice, France   Tonga 12–10 45–17 2023 Rugby World Cup
23 3 February 2024 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales   Wales 18–0 27–26 2024 Six Nations Championship
24 25–0
25 24 February 2024 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   England 5–10 30–21 2024 Six Nations Championship
26 12–10
27 22–13
28 12 July 2024 Audi Field, Washington DC, United States   United States 5–0 42–7 2024 mid-year rugby union tests
29 27 July 2024 Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay   Uruguay 19-0 31–19 2024 mid-year rugby union tests
29 2 November 2024 Murrrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland   Fiji 48-17 35–17 2024 end-of-year rugby union internationals

as of 3 November 2024[68]

References

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