A TOUGH TIME TO BE NAMED CANADA SKIP
GLASGOW hero Dan van der Merwe admitted he couldn’t have chosen a more difficult time to be named Canada skipper.
The winger will make his first appearance in charge of the team on Saturday and claimed he’ll probably know more about Scotland than his own troops.
As he stepped up preparations for the Scots’ trans-Atlantic tour opener in Edmonton, Warriors try star DTH said: “We are in a bit of a rebuild phase and we won’t know until November if we will make it to next year’s World Cup.
“Things are very tough for Canadian rugby at the moment. Results have not been good since the last tournament in England and that has made it harder to earn matches against Tier One nations.
“Facing Scotland gives us a huge opportunity to get back up the rankings before we go through the World Cup qualification repechage.
“Obviously I know the Scottish guys well – in fact I probably know more about them than our own boys!
“It is always a major task to find consistency when you take into account the enormous size of our country and the fact so many squad members are based overseas.”
Van der Merwe, who has been in great form for Glasgow since starting his second spell at the club, added: “We are still feeling the pain of losing twice to Uruguay in the World Cup qualifying event.
“And we still don’t know who our next opponents will be. That means we can only focus on the short term at the moment.
“Scotland have a few young and experienced lads in their tour squad but that won’t make them any weaker because the new guys will be desperate to put their hands up for the World Cup.”
●Edinburgh have signed Fijian breakaway star Senitiki Nayalo.
The 6ft 2in, 18 -stone star has clinched a two-year deal after leaving London Irish.
Nayalo, 25, said: “It’s a new chapter of my rugby career and I can’t wait for a new start.”
Gunners coach Richard Cockerill added: “Senitiki is an abrasive and powerful ball carrier, who will undoubtedly add strength and depth to our back row.”