Van Der Merwe looking forward to Bath time as he makes debut
CANADA ACE IS SET FOR HIS FALCONS’ BOW IN SHOWDOWN AT THE REC
CANADA’S record try-scorer DTH van der Merwe makes his debut for Newcastle Falcons today as they make the Aviva Premiership trip to Bath (kick-off 3.00.
The 31-year-old has scored 25 tries in his 44 international caps and joined the Falcons from Pro 12 winners the Scarlets, having scored a try in the competition’s final.
Made co-captain of his country over the summer, Van der Merwe’s debut had been delayed by a knee injury suffered during their Rugby World Cup qualifying match against the USA.
His inclusion is one of five changes from the team which started in last weekend’s match against Saracens in Philadelphia, with hooker Santiago Socino making his first Aviva Premiership start after a pair of appearances from the bench over the past fortnight.
Older brother Juan Pablo Socino comes into the centres, Craig Willis earning a first start of the season at fly-half while Will Witty slots into the second row.
Heading to the Rec in pursuit of their third consecutive away win in the league, director of rugby Dean Richards is relishing the opportunity to return to a venue at which he had many a skirmish in his playing days.
The Falcons’ boss said: “I used to love the Rec, it was one of my favourite places to play and I had many a punch-up down there. The pitch never used to be as good as it is now and I used to love thriving in the mud - but it is a different type of game nowadays.
“Back then Bath used to have 10 or 12 of the England team knocking around their squad and Leicester were vying with them for that top spot.
“Every game with them was a real battle - but I enjoyed it.
“They are a really good side these days but they have injuries in key areas, as we do ourselves.
“On paper they are putting out a strong team and it should be a really good contest.
“We work very hard on our shape and if we stick to that shape we have runners and strike players who can cause them problems.
“Likewise them for us and they have a number of key individuals who can make a big difference.”
Determined not to use last weekend’s match in Philadelphia as an excuse this weekend, Richards added: “Everybody has come back really well from America and there are no worries with fatigue or jet lag.
“We got back into training on Tuesday, had a big day on Wednesday and everything is now geared up to arriving fresh and fully prepared at Bath.
“The week over there was great although the result was disappointing but in terms of going to America and what we got out of it as a team I thought that was pretty good.
“It has promoted the Aviva Premiership to a new audience, continued to spread awareness of professional rugby in America and created a lot of interest.