Duhan van der Merwe

Duhan van der Merwe (born (1995-06-04)June 4, 1995) is a rugby union player, who plays as a wing for Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland. He was born and grew up in South Africa, and qualified for Scotland through the three year residency rule.[1]

Duhan van der Merwe
Date of birth (1995-06-04) 4 June 1995
Place of birthGeorge, Western Cape, South Africa
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight106 kg (234 lb; 16 st 10 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Outeniqua, George
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Notable relative(s)Akker van der Merwe (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Current team Edinburgh
Youth career
2011–2013 SWD Eagles
2014–2015 Blue Bulls
2016–2017 Montpellier
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 UP Tuks 8 (74)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 Blue Bulls 2 (0)
2016–2017 Montpellier 4 (15)
2017–present Edinburgh Rugby 61 (155)
Correct as of 9 December 2020
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012–2013 South Africa Schools 5 (15)
2014 South Africa Under-20 2 (0)
2020–present Scotland 6 (20)
Correct as of 9 December 2020

Rugby career

2011–2013 : Schoolboy rugby

Van der Merwe was born and grew up in George in the Western Cape province of South Africa. He attended and played rugby for Hoërskool Outeniqua, earning several provincial colours by representing the SWD Eagles at youth tournaments. In 2011, he represented SWD 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]

2014–2016 : Youth rugby

After high school, Van der Merwe moved to Pretoria, where he joined the Blue Bulls' academy for the 2014 season.[16] Shortly after joining, he was a late call-up to the South Africa Under-20 squad that participated at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand,[17] 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.[18] Van der Merwe was an unused replacement for their 33–24 victory over hosts New Zealand in their second match,[19] but started their final pool match, a 21–8 victory over Samoa[20] 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,[21] 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[22] to finish as runners-up in the competition.

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.[23] After scoring a single try in matches against Sharks U19[24] and Western Province U19,[25] he scored two tries against the Leopards U19 in a 52–27 win.[26] Another try in their second meeting against Western Province[27] was followed by a hat-trick in a 46–24 victory over the Leopards in Potchefstroom.[28] The helped his side finish top of the log[29] and make it all the way to the final of the competition before losing to Western Province.[30] 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.[31]

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.[32] 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.[33]

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[34] and UFS Shimlas[35] and scored two tries in their 68–25 victory over CUT Ixias.[36] 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.[37] 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[38] 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,[39] and made his first start a week later against the Pumas,[40] which would be his final action in a Blue Bulls shirt.

2016–2017 : Montpellier

He moved to France in July 2016 to join Top 14 side Montpellier, signing a youth contract with the team.[41] He made his debut for the senior team in their Round 15 match against Pau, replacing Joffrey Michel.[42] A recurring hip injury, and difficulties adjusting to the culture and language, meant he gained little game time.[43]

2017–present : Edinburgh

Van der Merwe signed a two-year professional contract with Scottish Pro14 side Edinburgh ahead of the 2017-18 season.[44] He failed his medical due to a long-standing hip injury, but Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill signed him despite this.[45] The injury meant he missed half his first season. However, his impact thereafter was strong. One area of improvement was seeking to get more involved in the game, from his wing position.[46]

International

He made his international debut for Scotland against Georgia on 23 October 2020, scoring a try in the process.[47] He doubled his test try-scoring tally on 14 November, touching down one of Scotland's four tries in Florence during victory over Italy.[48] then adding another in Dublin on 5th of December and in London 6th of February 2021

Personal life

Van der Merwe is the younger brother of Akker van der Merwe, also a professional rugby union player who plays at hooker.[49]

His brother Akker was nicknamed after the famous clarinettist Acker Bilk. Duhan was named after Irish folk musician Johnny Duhan after the family spent time in Ireland [50]

References
  1. "Scotland new boy Duhan van der Merwe already a marked man". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD 25-8 KZN". South African Rugby Union. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD 46-18 Limpopo". South African Rugby Union. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP 39-33 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  5. "SA Rugby Squad – South Africa : 2012 SA Schools 2012". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17-7 France". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 36-29 England". South African Rugby Union. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Eastern Province 14-40 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 29-37 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  10. "SA Rugby Squad – South Africa : 2013 SA Schools 2013". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 19-14 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17-13 France". South African Rugby Union. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 14-13 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  14. "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2013 SA Schools 2013". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  15. "WP youngsters in Sevens squads" (Press release). Western Province Rugby. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  16. "Strong local flavour in junior contracted U19 group" (Press release). Bulls. 30 October 2013. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  17. "Outeniqua Old Boy Gets Baby Bok Call Up". Youth Sports Network. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 61-5 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  19. "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 24-33 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  20. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Samoa 8-21 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  21. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 32-25 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  22. "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 21-20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  23. "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2014 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  24. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U19 33-18 Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  25. "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP U19 16-11 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  26. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U19 52-27 Leopards U19". South African Rugby Union. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  27. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U19 44-29 WP U19". South African Rugby Union. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  28. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards U19 24-46 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  29. "SA Rugby Log – 2014 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  30. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U19 33-26 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  31. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 24-10 Free State U21". South African Rugby Union. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  32. "DHL WP stars in Junior Bok trials" (Press release). Western Province Rugby. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  33. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 43-10 EP Kings U21". South African Rugby Union. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  34. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP-TUKS 15-38 FNB NWU-PUKKE". South African Rugby Union. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  35. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP-TUKS 46-47 FNB UFS SHIMLAS". South African Rugby Union. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  36. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB CUT 25-68 FNB UP-TUKS". South African Rugby Union. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  37. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT IKEYS 25-100 FNB UP-TUKS". South African Rugby Union. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  38. "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2016 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  39. "SA Rugby Match Centre – EP Kings 19-14 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  40. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 13-25 Steval Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  41. "Duhan Van der Merwe" (in French). Montpellier Hérault Rugby. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  42. "Pau vs Montpellier". rugbyrama (in French). 29 December 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  43. https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/duhan-ready-scotland/
  44. "Duhan van der Merwe: Edinburgh sign South African wing from Montpellier". BBC Sport. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  45. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51127633
  46. https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/rugby/1079954/duhan-van-der-merwe-shows-his-gratitude-to-edinburgh-with-new-deal/
  47. https://twitter.com/Scotlandteam/status/1319729948341473290
  48. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/54944629
  49. "Duhan van der Merwe makes history in FNB Tuks colours". Varsity Cup. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  50. "Johnny Duhan", Wikipedia, 2020-06-20, retrieved 2020-10-10
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