Springbok speedster Edwill van der Merwe was full of praise for Test centurion Willie le Roux as the Boks routed Italy 45-0 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Van der Merwe scored two of the Boks’ seven tries in a Man of the Match performance in his first Test on South African soil, having not featured in the green and gold for 13 months. He scored on debut against Wales at Twickenham last year, but injury – along with the form of Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse – kept him out of contention.

READ: Van der Merwe shines for 14-man Boks

But in a match where he could’ve been overwhelmed by emotion, Van der Merwe told SuperSport that Le Roux made sure the butterflies were kept in check.

“Really an honour to get my second cap, the guys around me made it really easy for me. Once again, a big congratulations to Willie on his 100th cap. Great leadership and keeping me calm.”

The Sharks-bound flyer says the team pulled together following No 8 Jasper Wiese’s red card in the 22nd minute, for a headbutt on Italian prop Danilo Fischetti.

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“That was the challenge from coach Rassie at half time – try and keep them at zero. We really pulled together and tried to put in a good performance with 14 men.”

Wiese was visibly disappointed in his action, telling SuperSport, “I know I let the team down. It was a silly moment from me.”

The Boks play their final Test before the Rugby Championship against Georgia next Saturday at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, which gets its first Bok Test since last year’s 48-7 thrashing of Argentina in the Rugby Championship.

Photo by Anton Geyser/Gallo Images