Duhan: There will be no family feud on this Lions tour
After a whirlwind six months, Duhan van der Merwe found out on Thursday that he is heading to the land of his birth this summer as a member of the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
As if that wasn’t a surreal enough scenario for the 2 5 - y e a r- o l d Edinburgh winger, there is a very good chance that he will come up against his older brother, Akker, the Sale Sharks hooker who was capped three times by the Springboks in 2018 and is now pushing hard for an international recall.
“There’s probably a small possibility of that depending on if he gets named in the squad and if I get a chance to play, so that would be very cool,” said the younger van der Merwe.
“I’ve spoken to mates back in South Africa and my family and they are very happy for me. Hopefully, they can come and see me play so they’re really stoked for me. I don’t know who they will be supporting – I hope it will be me!
“The last time we spoke they said they were going to get a special jersey created – one side Springboks and the other the British and Irish Lions!
“My mum and dad said they would support me when I have the ball and they will support my brother when he has the ball. Which is very fair!
“Obviously I grew up there and played some of my rugby at Pretoria so I’m used to the stadiums. But I left South Africa quite early and now I’m going back to potentially face the Springboks. That’s something I ’m looking forward to.
“I know quite a few of them. I played Under- 20s with a couple of the guys there and I’m mates with a few others. I know Malcolm Marx, Jesse Kriel and Handre Pollard quite well, and Faf de Klerk who plays with my brother at Sale. I pretty much know most of the team!”
One of the few Springboks he is not on first-name terms with is his potential opposite number, Cheslin Kolbe, who is nine inches shorter and over four stone lighter than van der Merwe but has arguably the fastest feet in world rugby.
“I’ve never played against or with him, but if I get the chance it’s something I would look forward to,” he insisted. “He reminds me a lot of wee Darcy Graham.”
Van der Merwe will join English Premiership side Worcester Warriors after the Lions tour but insists he will always be grateful to Edinburgh for resurrecting his career after he failed to make the grade playing for Montpellier in France.
“I failed my medical when I first came over but they still took a chance on me,” he recalled. “I was still quite raw back then and Edinburgh have spent a lot of time helping me with my game. I’ll always say thanks to them for that.
“But sometimes opportunities pop up and you want to take on a new challenge. That’s something I’ve decided to do. Hopefully I’ll still be in Edinburgh quite a lot.”