Who is Duhan van der Merwe? Scotland Cricket Team & Edinburgh Rugby Player

The Scotland national team captain, Duhan van der Merwe, currently features for Edinburgh Rugby and participates in RWC 2015. He was born in South Africa but played for Scotland. He is among the top try-scorers of the 2021 Six Nations. The following are facts about his life and work.

Early years

He spent his childhood and adulthood in George, a city in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Duhan also played for Hoërskool Outeniqua in different tournaments. He has more than six provincial colours as he represented the SWC Eagles teams. He was also in the rugby sevens, and as such, he played for South Africa at international levels.

For instance, in 2012 and 2013, he was picked alongside his school team that faced England, France, and Wales in the World Schools’ Tournament U-18 international series. In 2013, he led by scoring seven tries in six matches as the number-one try scorer in the competition.

Playing Rugby in Youth

Following his high school studies in Paarl, Van der Merwe relocated to Pretoria and entered the Blue Bulls’ academy in 2014. A replacement for Rohan Janse van Rensburg, who was called a Late Call-Up to the SA u20s Rugby team playing at the IRB junior world cup in New Zealand.

Duhan Van Der Merwe played at the first match against Samoa for their last pool match and came on from the bench during the semifinal against New Zealand and the final against England, where South Africa lost by a score of 21-20.

In the Currie Cup qualifying tournament, he played two matches for the Blue Bulls in 2016, representing them as a senior player. Secondly, he had an agreement with the French club Montpellier. He was involved in four games in the 2016-17 Top 14 campaign, scoring thrice.

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Joining the Edinburgh Rugby Club

Van der Merwe also played for Edinburgh Rugby, a Scottish club competing in the URC (previously, Pro14), in 2017. His presence was felt immediately as he scored ten points in that season and attracted fans with his strong running ability and finishing.

In subsequent seasons, he also impressed by consistently topping the league for the number of clean breaks, defenders beaten and metres made. He won the Guinness Pro14 Player’s Player of the Season for the last campaign. Duhan scored 11 tries out of 19 games played.

He had been announced to have signed for Premiership club Worcester Warriors as early as January 2021 for a contract lasting from 2021/2. Nevertheless, after they (Edinburgh) suffered a financial crash, he went back to Edinburgh.

How Duhan Van Der Merwe Started Playing For Scotland?

Through the three-year residency rule, van der Merwe has been a resident of Scotland since 2017 and plays there. In a 48-7 victory over Georgia at BT Murrayfield, he debuted for Scotland.

In his first ten Test matches, he scored eight tries, with five coming in the 2021 Six Nations. His last-moment tries against France brought them a win in Paris for the first time since 1999. He also touched down twice with Italy, once against England and once versus Ireland.

In 2021, he became one of four Scottish players picked up for the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa. He appeared in three games for the Lions and one test against the country of his origin.

Personal life of Duhan van der Merwe

A hooker for Sale Sharks, Van der Merwe’s brother, Akker, has played in three matches for the South African national side. Van der Merwe is married to Niek, and they post together on Instagram frequently. He likes gaming and golfing in his free time: Games and golf.