Van’s the man for Cockerill after making a flying start
RICHARD Cockerill believes Duhan van der Merwe is ‘as good as anyone’ in the game right now after the flying winger’s superb start to his Edinburgh career.
The 22-year-old South Africanborn player has made an instant impact in the black and red, bagging seven tries in his first 13 outings including a great effort in the Guinness Pro14 victory at Connacht last week.
At 6ft3in and weighing in at more than 17st, he is a physical, abrasive player who sticks to his wing, knows where the try line is — and reminds many of Tim Visser when he first arrived in the capital.
Like Dutch-born Visser a few years back, Van der Merwe has also stated his desire to stay in Scotland and try to qualify for the national team from 2020 through residency rules.
And he has already picked up an ardent admirer in Edinburgh head coach Cockerill ahead of tomorrow’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final with Cardiff Blues at Murrayfield.
‘Duhan is a big physical specimen and he’s quick,’ said Cockerill. ‘He’s a good player and the tries he has grabbed in the last two weeks, well, I don’t think anyone else would have scored them.
‘To catch Dougie Fife up from where he was, to get on the end of the pass against Munster and get around Simon Zebo was impressive, as was his finish at Connacht.
‘He’s a young player and he’s still learning the softer skills of the game, but physically and finishing-wise he’s as good as anyone.’
After arriving from Montpellier on a two-year contract last summer, a hip injury saw Van der Merwe spend a number of months in rehab.
Since November, however, he has been one of the first names on the Edinburgh teamsheet.
And he admits to some surprise at how well the team have been doing, with seven wins in eight games since the turn of the year.
‘When I signed, I looked at Edinburgh and they were ninth or tenth in the table towards the end of last season, and I checked the previous years and I was like: “Oh”,’ said the winger.
‘I just thought to myself: “I’ll come over and try and get some game time”.
‘I’m a young guy and I want to play professional rugby, so being in the play-off spots in the league at this stage and in a European quarter-final is massive.
‘We’ve worked so hard and I really think we deserve to be competing with the top dogs.
‘The boys say they are much more positive this season than previously.
‘Being in this position, playing regular big games, is great. It’s why you play rugby, to compete against the big teams. I’m just enjoying it at the moment.’
Meanwhile, Scotland centurion Ross Ford will make his return to action after five months out when he plays in tomorrow’s BT Cup semi-final for Melrose against Watsonians at Myreside. The 33-year-old has been back in full training with Edinburgh for a few weeks now and Cockerill had hinted that he may be involved against Cardiff this weekend.
However, Ford has had a pectoral muscle injury that has seen him out of action since before the autumn Tests and, with Stuart McInally back from Scotland duty and Neil Cochrane in good form, Cockerill clearly feels he will benefit from a run out at club level before Edinburgh’s hectic run-in.
Fellow Scotland cap Darryl Marfo, also just back after four months out, will also be involved in the semi-final.
The 27-year-old loosehead prop, though, will be on the bench for Watsonians.