When you look at the wingers from the Six Nations you see there is something different about Duhan van der Merwe, who is built like Mr Incredible and has a combination of size and speed that his rivals lack.
Frankly, these physical attributes become more prominent when you compare Van der Merwe to the Scotland opposite wing; either Darcy Graham or Kyle Steyn, with their bursts of acceleration and playing in the back seven, the same goes for Italy’s Lorenzo Pani.
In England and Ireland we have Elliot Daly and James Lowe; Excellent finishers who are also highly valued for their respected kicking game with their left foot. Rio Dyer is fast, and you’re backing Josh Adams and Monty Ioane to take most chances that come their way. Tommy Freeman is interesting with his own pace and structure, but not as great. Damian Penaud matches Van der Merwe in terms of height but appears to glide across the field as he moves through the air, the same can be said for the smaller Louis Bierre-Biarrey.
Van der Merwe is a Test rugby unicorn of sorts. It doesn’t seem fair to be this strong and this fast.
Yes, comparing any player to Jonah Lomu sounds absolutely ridiculous, and frankly Van der Merwe doesn’t have the same immediate explosiveness of Lomu. But there are traits and hints of Lomu in the way Van der Merwe belittles other adult players and the way defenses fail to deal with him despite their best intentions when he starts to roll. Fortunately, someone more qualified had made this comparison before. Almost.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said after Van der Merwe’s remarkable long-distance try against England at Twickenham last time out: “It reminds me of when – if you’re of a certain age – you were playing Jonah Lomu rugby and suddenly one person could go faster.” ” said. year. There was also a pleasant quirk to Van der Merwe’s performance against Tonga at last year’s Rugby World Cup; Only one of the 15 Lomu defeats against Scotland in the 1995 tournament saw him beat 14 defenders missing (as Opta notes). In fact, Van der Merwe has beaten 81 defenders in the Six Nations since making his debut for Scotland at the end of 2020. No other winger has scored more than 55 goals (Penaud).
After Scotland’s first win in Cardiff for 22 years last week, Townsend noted with a smile that Van der Merwe had never scored against Wales before. He finished the game with two points and nearly completed a hat-trick, the second classic he added to his growing collection. The brace took Van der Merwe to 23 tries for Scotland, moving him third on the all-time list with Stuart Hogg’s record of 27 (Graham is second with 24). Given that less than 3.5 years have passed since van der Merwe’s Test debut, it seems inevitable that Hogg’s record will be broken. After his hot start, something like this could happen even in this championship.
“He’s one of the best split-field runners in the game,” a rival international coach said Telegram Sports This week.
“Instead of giving him time and a chance to run to where he can beat defenders with footwork and defense, you have to close down his space early and kick into the tackle.”
It is fair to say that Wales did not comply with these instructions in Cardiff. The combination of Tomos Williams’ box kick going too far – Sage’s analysis shows the ball traveled 36.1 meters – and his slow follow-up meant Finn Russell’s offload found Van der Merwe approaching the ball from 46.5 metres. out there, you knew Wales were toasting. Punishment for Williams’ misbehavior was having to face Van der Merwe one-on-one, but the Scotland winger failed to get a touch on him as he turned on the jets.
The winning try against England at Twickenham was of a similar recipe, but Jack van Poortvliet’s clearance actually went further; in other words, it was worse. Despite this, England had a chance to stop Van der Merwe from 57 meters out and no-one could do it; His superb side-step combination, complemented by superb defending against Alex Dombrandt, led to the try of the year, if not most of the year. Watch the clip without commentary and you’re likely to catch Owen Farrell swearing angrily into the referee’s microphone after missing the first tackle.
Van der Merwe cannot be said to be just a long-term specialist. The same Test coach scored an improbable goal from the wing during the 2022 tour of Argentina, underlining his intense work tempo to create try-scoring opportunities off the ball, with two defenders hanging off his back being a good example of this.
At a time when the sport is making a concerted effort to attract new fans through documentaries, Van der Merwe resembles a blockbuster attraction, producing highlight reels that sell the game better than any gimmicks. It could also help Scotland become real contenders in this championship if they win at Murrayfield on Saturday. France was warned. If you kick aimlessly, Van der Merwe will punish you.