Duhan defends his Saffa switch
Duhan van der Merwe has hit back at critics questioning his Scottish allegiance, as the South African winger gears up for his second British & Irish Lions tour.
Van der Merwe and fellow SA-born Scotland star Pierre Schoeman were selected by head coach Andy Farrell for the nine-match trip to Australia from 28 June to 2 August.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian, Van der Merwe, now Scotland’s all-time leading try-scorer (32), opened up about the challenges of leaving home at 22 and forging a new life abroad.
The George-born flyer insisted his commitment to the Scottish jersey runs deep after being given a lifeline by club Edinburgh seven years ago.
“I went over as a young boy and people don’t understand how hard it is, leaving your family behind, leaving everything behind, going to a country where you don’t know how things work,” he said.
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“Initially, my English wasn’t good at all. It was tough. People don’t understand how hard that transition is.
“People don’t see the amount of hard work and sacrifice you put in because I wouldn’t be sitting here without it.”
Van der Merwe is fired up to take on the Wallabies after a difficult 2021 Lions tour to his native South Africa, marked by lockdown restrictions and online abuse.
“There were a lot of personal messages on social media towards me. I just dust it off because I know how hard I’ve worked to get to where I am,” he said.
“You always have people on social media who are going to bring you down and slate you, but I’ve got to a point in my career where it doesn’t faze me at all.”
Fit again after an ankle injury, the 30-year-old returns in Friday’s warm-up against Argentina in Dublin. “I believe if I can get as many touches as possible, somehow I can get a line break or score,” he added.
“Somehow I always have my best game against England – the boys say: ‘Just imagine it’s white jerseys.’”
Photo: @lionsofficial/Twitter