THE CAP WILL FIT
Lomu-like Duhan the answer for Townsend
Scotland head coach Gregor townsend spent his Saturday night on a Zoom call with those involved in Bolivian rugby, having taken up an invitation to pass on his knowledge on attack coaching.
the name of Edinburgh winger duhan van der Merwe probably didn’t come up on the call but the next time townsend puts together an attacking tactical plan for real, it most certainly will.
the South african-born star has now qualified for Scotland through residency and it is likely he will be capped at the earliest possible opportunity. Expect to see him make his debut in one of the five international matches coming up in late october and all through november.
Based on his performance against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday night, he is just what Scotland need. a brave wide man who runs over opponents nearly as well as the legendary Jonah lomu used to do. not many players have the confidence to run with the ball in one hand as he did against Glasgow on his way to setting up his fellow South african nic Groom for his second-half try. His one-hand pass to him to finish the move was sublime.
‘I owe duhan a lot of beers,’ said Groom, who scored two tries against Glasgow. ‘He has put me over a few times. He’s an incredible player with the ball in hand and my philosophy is that, if I just stick close to him, I’m in with a chance.
‘Is he good enough to play for Scotland? I think so. I don’t think many people would argue against that. His form has proved that. He’s a very dangerous player and has improved immensely in his time in Scotland. He’s added a lot to his game, so good for him.’
Van der Merwe isn’t the only South african playing for Edinburgh who is on townsend’s radar. Fly-half Jaco van der Walt will qualify through residency in november. While Finn Russell should be back to take the Scotland starting spot, Van der Walt is good enough to compete with Glasgow’s adam Hastings for the back-up position. the more strength in depth Scotland have at ten the better.
‘Jaco also looked really good against Glasgow,’ said Groom. ‘He’s stepping up to run the attack really well. I think we’ll keep on working as nine and ten to make sure things run as seamlessly as possible for Edinburgh.
‘With a lot more penalties being given, we are going to get a lot more line-outs, because we will be kicking for touch more. So that’s when the brain needs to start turning in terms of: “We’ve had three line-outs now with this play, so how do we vary it?”
‘Jaco did really well in managing that variation and changed it up well against Glasgow.’
as well as Groom’s two tries, his replacement at scrum-half charlie Shiel went over. Van der Walt kicked three conversions and three penalties. Glasgow’s points — all scored in a first half where they went in at the break 15-13 ahead — came from a try each from Peter Horne and Hastings, who also put over a conversion and a penalty.
Edinburgh now have a Pro14 home semi-final against Ulster on Saturday, September 5 to look forward to after the win secured their place in the play-offs. Glasgow’s defeat gives them no chance of qualifying. next Friday’s derby match at Bt Murrayfield is now a dead rubber for both teams.
Glasgow are a team in transition under new head coach danny Wilson and their display against Edinburgh raised some questions.
can lock forward Richie Gray still do a job in his second spell at the club, or are his best days behind him? can Huw Jones fill the vacant full-back slot? can Ryan Wilson still do a job in the back row and as co-captain?
The real Glasgow leader against Edinburgh was hooker Fraser Brown, who was named co-captain with Wilson for the Edinburgh game. He didn’t mince his words after the defeat.
‘The first 60 minutes was fine, the last 20 minutes it was a no,’ said Brown. ‘We were victims of our own demise.
‘We didn’t adapt quickly enough at the breakdown. We were on top at the set-piece, we had good line-out but didn’t get much off the back of it. We were stripped of the ball when we should have been looking to exit.
‘Edinburgh’s second try comes off a loose kick and a poor chase. When you are kicking to Blair Kinghorn from your own backfield and you don’t chase properly, then you are asking for trouble.
‘We had some really good defensive sets, we also had two or three where we let ourselves down. We defended the breakdown well but we were unlucky not to get as many decisions with jackling as we could have.
‘our attacking breakdown and how we look after the ball is also something we need to improve. If we can work harder to give multi-options for our 9s, 10s and 12s, then it’ll open up space on the backfield to kick and it will open up space in midfield, so these are things which will come with games and training.
‘It was a competitive game and a physical game but we need to look at it and try and improve as we have a game with Edinburgh again on Friday.’
Expect Edinburgh to make major changes for the return with key players such as captain Stuart McInally being rested or at the very least brought off early to keep him fresh for the semi-final. darcy Graham, who missed the first derby win through injury, will return on the wing.
Glasgow will play their strongest side possible as it will be their last competitive run out until the new Pro14 season starts in early october.