A CANADA HIGH FOR WARRIORS
The return of Warriors legend DTh van der Merwe is the perfect signing at the perfect time for Glasgow as they prepare for another tilt at glory in the Pro14 play-offs.
The Canadian, the Warriors’ all-time leading try scorer, has won the play-off final twice — with Glasgow in 2015 and Scarlets last May, scoring a try on both occasions.
The signing, revealed by Sportsmail last week, was hailed by Warriors captain Ryan Wilson, who tweeted: ‘Just in time for the finals! Awesome news, welcome back.’
Bringing in an experienced performer with such big-match experience will be a huge boost for Glasgow, who are currently 12 points clear at the top of Conference A and have already qualified for the play-offs.
‘I’ve been away for three years and Glasgow is like a second home to me,’ said van der Merwe, who has left Newcastle Falcons to sign a deal until May 2020.
‘Glasgow play an exciting brand of rugby and it’s great coming back to a place I’m familiar with and my wife is very happy here.
‘You probably couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, it feels good to be home. I just want to get stuck in with the boys now and hopefully finish the season on a high.’
‘My first child was born here and Glasgow will always be special to me and I’m massively excited to be back. Niko (Matawalu) and Ruaridh (Jackson) have also come back this season and it speaks volumes about the club that players want to come back here.
‘I thought a lot about leaving Glasgow after 96 games, that was always in the back of my mind. I just didn’t quite get to 100, but now I’ve got that opportunity.
‘You hear a lot of good things about Dave (Rennie). I was lucky enough to work with him when I was on tour with Canada a few years ago. he came in and did a couple of weeks of training and some of the things I learned from him and some of the things he said made a lot of sense.
‘The success he had at the Chiefs is well-known and he has a very good reputation, so I’m looking forward to working with him and the other coaches.
The Canadian spent six seasons with the club from 2009 until 2015, before moving to the Scarlets and then to Newcastle Falcons.
During his previous spell, he scored 43 tries in 96 appearances and in his final game scored a try in the win over Munster in the Guinness Pro12 final in Belfast.
The 31-year-old racked up 19 tries in 41 appearances during his two-year spell with the Welsh club, the last of which came against Munster in the 2017 Pro12 final in Dublin, when he lifted the trophy for the second time in his career.
The winger, who was born in South Africa before moving to Canada with his family as a teenager, has scored 32 tries in 51 Tests for his country and has played in three World Cups. he is Canada’s all-time leading try scorer.
Glasgow head coach Rennie added: ‘I’ve seen DTh play a lot over a number of years for Canada and I had a chance to spend a couple of weeks with them on their autumn tour and I was really impressed with DTh, not just with his skills but with his manner. he’s a good man and will fit in well here.’