DTH ready to turn up the heat for Falcons
NEWCASTLE signing DTH van der Merwe plans to blaze a trail in the Premiership before putting out fires for real when he retires in three years’ time.
Having scored tries for fun at Glasgow and then the Scarlets in PRO12, the South African-born Canadian international will bow out of professional rugby once his Falcons’ contract expires in 2020 to become a full-time firefighter.
But first he has a job to do in the English Premiership, an alien environment to him other than the briefest of spells at Saracens a decade ago.
“I’m looking forward to getting started at the Falcons and hopefully making my mark on the team,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“I picked up a bit of a leg injury playing for Canada in the first World Cup playoff game against USA and I’ve not been able to play in any of the pre-season games yet but it is moving in the right direction.”
In 107 PRO12 appearances, Van der Merwe scored 50 tries, helping both Glasgow and Scarlets to the title. This summer he also became Canada’s record try-scorer, surpassing Winston Stanley’s previous best of 24.
Van der Merwe wowed English crowds at the last World Cup, eclipsing such luminaries as Bryan Habana with four tries from as many games, but the Premiership gives him an entirely new platform to impress.
“I was only at Saracens for two months, as a medical joker, and I only played one first-team game against Leeds,” he said.
“I was only 20 years old at the time and don’t remember much about it at all but now I am looking forward to playing in a new league with new opponents and travelling by bus instead of flying everywhere.
“At the end of the day, you play rugby to experience new things – to play against new teams and different players – and to challenge yourself.
“People are always asking which league is better – the PRO12 or the Premiership – and soon I’ll be able to find out for myself.” One of Van der Merwe’s challenges will be to force his way past either Vereniki Goneva, below, and the fitagain Sinoti Sinoti on the wings. “There is a hell of a team brewing here and let’s hope we can put it together,” he said. “Evan Olmstead and a few of my teammates from Canada have said to me I probably won’t make the team because of the competition. Both Goneva and Sinoti are Xfactor players but we’re all in our 30s now so it’s a good thing that we can maybe rotate a bit during the season and avoid playing every game and getting wrecked.
“I am looking forward to learning from both guys because they bring different skill sets and experiences with them.”
The father of two preschool children will also offer himself up as an option at centre in a bid to get as much game time as possible
“It’s as position I’ve played for Canada a bit since 2012. I played the odd game at Glasgow there too, and was subbed on there once or twice with Scarlets due to injuries. If you can cover another position it can make the difference between getting on the bench or not,” he said.
Having picked up a winner’s medal at Glasgow and then the Scarlets, Van der Merwe is hoping he can prove to be a lucky charm and help Newcastle to win silverware before he returns home to take up his new career.
“Every time I’ve left a club we’ve won something so let’s hope that will happen again here three years from now,” he added.