Prolific wing Duhan van der Merwe failed his medical when he moved to Edinburgh, but it’s all worked out better than the club or the player could have hoped.
The 24-year-old, who qualifies through residency to play international rugby for Scotland next June, has developed into one of the biggest try-scoring threats in European rugby in his two and a half years with Edinburgh and has signed a new deal to stay at the club – but it almost didn’t happen at all.
Van der Merwe had a hip injury that required surgery when he moved from Montpellier to the Scottish capital and he felt the club could pull back from the deal and leave him in limbo.
“The club basically threw me a lifeline,” he said after he became the latest of Edinburgh’s star players to sign a contract extension.
“I hadn’t had much at Montpellier, I got the option to come to Edinburgh, but then I failed the medical and I thought `where to next, what now?’
“If (head coach Richard Cockerill) hadn’t backed me, that was probably it for me because I didn’t have any options. Who was going to fix my hip, where was I going to get the rehab?
“I’m really grateful for Cockers and the club for backing me back then.”
Van der Merwe missed the first half of his first season as he recovered from his injury but hasn’t missed a beat since then, scoring 28 tries in just 53 appearances.
That did bring obvious interest from elsewhere as his first deal was due to expire, but he knew what the right decision was.
“The club have looked after me really well,” he continued. “I’ve developed my career here at Edinburgh and I want to keep developing as a player so, at the end of the day, it was actually easy for me to decide to stay here.
“I used to just stand on the wing and if I didn’t get the ball, I’d walk off the field and grumble about how they didn’t pass to me.
“Now, I actually work and try to get the ball. I’ve still got bits of my game I need to develop but I’m a much different player than I was when I arrived. I’m a lot more confident in everything I do.”
Cockerill admitted that van der Merwe was gamble that ended up working out well.
“They’re always punts, up to a point, and it’s great when they work,” said the head coach. “When Duhan came he was very young, very raw and injured. He had to have hip surgery so we had to put our faith in him.
“We could have sent him straight back to France. Instead, we spent time, money and effort getting him fit, but that’s been a two-way effort. He’s worked really hard.
“He’s got a unique skill set. Duhan has the big point of difference – he can have the ball 70 metres from the line and, if he gets an opportunity, he’s going to take it.
‘He has pure pace, his footwork, his power, he’s scored tries from nothing.
“I’m delighted he sees his future here – and hopefully that will include national involvement at some point.”
Van der Merwe says international rugby “is in the back of my mind” and the fact thatg Scotland’s first games after he qualifies as two tests in his native South Africa.
“I want to play international rugby and if the opportunity is there to play, I’d want to grab it with both hands and give it a shot and see where I’m at.
“That’d be really cool, playing against South Africa. If I get the opportunity, I’d love that.”
