Edwill van der Merwe eager to grasp Bok opportunity against Scotland
· Citizen
Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe said he relishes playing his sixth Test for the Springboks, and though he will take on Scotland for the first time on Saturday, he is familiar with their back three.
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It will also be the first time Van der Merwe wears the Bok jersey at Loftus Versfeld, as South Africa hope to follow up last week’s emphatic 45-21 win over England that put them at the top of the Nations Championship table.
Van der Merwe’s first game since hat-trick
The Bok wing missed that game after scoring a hat-trick against the Barbarians in Gqeberha.
“If you’re not playing, there’s no real time to feel sorry for yourself because you focus on what you can do to help the team,” he said.
“You then wait until you get your opportunity. When it comes, you have to grab it with both hands.”
He added that the squad knew that the team always came first, and Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse had helped him prepare for Scotland.
He will run out with Canan Moodie (left wing) and Aphelele Fassi (fullback) in a new-look back three.
Damian Willemse, starting at centre, and Quan Horn, on the bench, can both cover flyhalf and fullback. Scrumhalf Grant Williams may also cover wing from the bench.
Van der Merwe, at 28, said he had to “wait a bit longer than I would have wanted to”, to become a regular feature in the side after playing four of his five Tests last year.
But he counted it a privilege and was grateful for the opportunity.
Familiar foes in Scotland squad
Van der Merwe said he had encountered Scotland’s main back three – captain Kyle Steyn, Kyle Rowe and Jamie Dobie – regularly playing for the Sharks in the URC.
But his encounters with Steyn go back to when the two played at Stellenbosch University.
“Steyn and I have known each other for quite some time. It will be good to play against him on the weekend.
“Most of their guys play for either Edinburgh or Glasgow, so they have a good cohesion, vision and understand each other. They have good relationships and know how to play off each other.
“I have played a few times against the wings that could possibly play this weekend. The coaching staff also have excellent profiles on the opposition players, so we know precisely what is coming.”