Latest news with #DuhanvanderMerwe
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Van Der Merwe out as Ritchie starts for Edinburgh in quarter-final
Duhan van der Merwe misses out on Edinburgh's URC quarter-final against Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday as head coach Sean Everitt makes just one Van Der Merwe, who has been sidelined since March with ankle ligament damage, has resumed training and is with the squad in South Everitt said: "He's probably still a few days away from being ready to return to full match action. We're managing his return carefully to ensure he's fully prepared when he does step back onto the field."Jamie Ritchie, who will join Perpignan this summer, starts at blindside flanker as Ben Muncaster drops to the bench from the team that beat Ulster to clinch a play-off spot."We know the Bulls are always a massive physical threat, especially here at Loftus," added Everitt."To compete, and to win, we will need to be at our absolute very best. That means bringing passion and intensity, but crucially, it also demands composure and clinical discipline for the full 80 minutes."Edinburgh XV to face Bulls: Goosen, Graham, Currie, Lang, Paterson, Thompson, Price, Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Sykes, Skinner, Ritchie, Watson, BradburyReplacements: Harrison, Venter, Sebastian, McConnell, Muncaster, McAlpine, Healy, Bennett.
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Duhan van der Merwe set to fly for Edinburgh but major worries in pack
Scotland and Lions Winger has not featured since injuring ankle Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Edinburgh Rugby are confident that Lions winger Duhan van der Merwe will be fit to face the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship quarter-final in South Africa on Saturday - but there are concerns around their options in the second row. Edinburgh Rugby hope to have Duhan van der Merwe involved this weekend. | SNS Group Van der Merwe, 29, has not played since limping off in the 11th minute of the home win over the Dragons in March. Scotland's record try-scorer injured his ankle but has been able to train this week. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Edinburgh are due to leave for South Africa on Tuesday and head coach Sean Everitt expects van der Merwe to be part of the travelling party. Edinburgh Rugby hope to have Duhan van der Merwe involved this weekend. | SNS Group 'Duhan will be travelling with us,' said Everitt. 'He came through training well on Monday, he's got one more training session to do on Tuesday. But as we stand right now, he'll be on the plane. 'Duhan's a world-class player as an international. He will bring a wealth of experience to the team. The team will take a lot of confidence from him [just being there]. We just hope that he pulls through on Tuesday and he can get to his best as soon as possible.' Second-row concerns Everitt is expecting a huge physical battle against the Bulls who were defeated by Glasgow Warriors in last season's final and there are question marks over the availability of Edinburgh locks Grant Gilchrist and Glen Young. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gilchrist, the club co-captain, has missed recent matches with a hamstring issue while Young's wife is due to give birth. 'Gilco will do his final fitness test to see if he's able to play the game on Saturday,' said Everitt. 'We can't take a player with us that might not play, so we'll make a final call at lunchtime on Tuesday. 'Glen Young is waiting for his wife to give birth to their third child, so there's a question mark around his availability for the trip to South Africa. We've got a flight booked for him on Thursday night. And should all be okay, then hopefully he'll join us on Friday.' Edinburgh started with Marshall Sykes and Sam Skinner in the second row in the recent wins over Connacht and Ulster and the pair are both available to face the Bulls. If Gilchrist and Young don't make it, the contingency plan is to have No 8 Magnus Bradbury providing cover at lock. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Grant Gilchrist has a hamstring issue for Edinburgh. | SNS Group There are also injury problems at scrum-half. Charlie Shiel has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a blow to the kidney in the latter stages of the win over Ulster which sealed Edinburgh's place in the last eight. With co-captain Ben Vellacott already out with a foot injury, there will be a call-up for Conor McAlpine who will provide back-up to Ali Price. McAlpine, 21, has had one outing for Edinburgh's top team, as a replacement in this season's Challenge Cup match against Gloucester, but he did play for the second string in their recent match against the Georgian side Black Lion. 'We've got Ali and we've got young Conor McAlpine, who will be covering us on the bench on the weekend,' said Everitt. 'Conor had a really good runout against Black Lion last week, so it's an exciting time for him. He also did the business for us against Gloucester, so we're not too concerned about him.' Bulls 'carry massive threat' Edinburgh lost 22-16 to the Bulls in the URC at Loftus Versfeld back in September but beat them 34-28 at home in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals last month and Everitt is looking forward to locking horns with them once more. 'The Bulls are a massive threat up front,' said the coach, who had a spell working with them prior to his Edinburgh appointment. 'What we have at our disposal now, apart from Grant Gilchrist, is the same as what we went with against them the last time. We know that it's going to be a set-piece battle, it always is. Especially at Loftus. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
IOL News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Edinburgh flyer Duhan van der Merwe to make comeback in URC play-off against Bulls
Duhan van der Merwe of Edinburgh is set to meet his brother, Akker, in a fortnight's time in the URC quarter-final against the Bulls, Photo: EPA Edinburgh are set to unleash Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe on the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship quarter-final on May 31, the big flyer's first action in nearly two months. Scotland's record try-scorer has not played since injuring his ankle against the Dragons on March 28 and coach Sean Everitt will be happy to have Van der Merwe's firepower for the huge challenge awaiting his team. Duhan will, at some point in the game, be up against his older brother Akker, the Bulls hooker who is likely to back up Johan Grobbelaar. Akker is four years older than 29-year-old Duhan, who, despite missing seven games, was still included in the Lions squad for a second consecutive tour. He started all three Tests in the series defeat to South Africa four years ago. After his team had produced an excellent performance to demolish Ulster 47-17, Everitt said van der Merwe will be available for the trip to Pretoria..
Scotsman
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Duhan van der Merwe fitness status ahead of Edinburgh play-off and Lions tour revealed
Winger has not featured since March 28 Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Edinburgh Rugby are hoping that Duhan van der Merwe will be fit for the United Rugby Championship play-offs after they booked their place in the last eight with a 47-17 win over Ulster on Friday evening. The powerful winger has not played since March 28 when he injured his ankle against the Dragons and had to come off after 11 minutes. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Van der Merwe, 29, has since been named in the British & Irish Lions squad for the summer tour of Australia but Edinburgh would love to have him available for their play-off quarter-final on May 31. Duhan van der Merwe during an Edinburgh Rugby training session at the Hive Stadium last week. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group 'We're hoping so,' said Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh head coach. 'He's running and he's doing really well. So we're definitely hoping that we have Duhan for the quarter-final.' In van der Merwe's absence, it was another talismanic winger who played a large part in Edinburgh's victory at Hive Stadium. Darcy Graham, who trails van der Merwe by one in the Scotland all-time try-scorers list, helped himself to a hat-trick against Ulster as Edinburgh secured the bonus-point win to guarantee their place in the play-offs for the first time in three years. Graham was a surprise omission from Andy Farrell's Lions squad when it was named last week but Everitt said the Hawick man had been dealing with the disappointment and also overcame a heel issue to play on Friday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'He's been struggling with a heel over the last couple of weeks, but this week he was feeling much better, and you could see it in his performance,' said Everitt. 'He's just got to keep on performing and make it really difficult for the Lions to leave him out should injuries occur. 'He's obviously disappointed - it's everyone's dream to play for the Lions. It's always going to be difficult when you've got four countries to choose from, and selection sometimes can be subjective. It's not always going to be factual, so we can't criticise the selection. Andy Farrell's an amazing coach and a really good selector, and he's done wonders with Ireland, so Darcy must just keep on going.' Darcy Graham stretches over the line. | SNS Group Edinburgh's squad will now have a few days off before, in the words of stand-in skipper Magnus Bradbury, it's time to 'tape the body up and go again'. Bradbury was immense on Friday, scoring two tries in an all-action display which encapsulated the improvement in Edinburgh's game in the second half of the campaign. The No 8 reckoned it was the team's most complete performance of the season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We talked about a fast start - last game at home, great night for it. But contrary to what we've done before, we kept the foot on the throat,' said Bradbury. 'We delivered on it. The boys did their jobs, we all did our jobs, and that's what happens when you get it right. 'We've had great games here before and great games away, but there's always been that 10-minute lapse. We didn't have that on Friday. We've challenged each other on that and we've been challenged by our coaches and we've delivered.' Bradbury has spoken before about a turning point in mid-season when the players stood up and took more responsibility but he refuted the suggestion that Edinburgh had been under-performing in the last couple of years. Magnus Bradbury scored two tries for Edinburgh in the win over Ulster on Friday. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group 'I think any club when you get a new coach, you have to go through that transition period. So under-performance is the wrong word for me,' said Bradbury. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We've had a huge mentality shift over the Six Nations. It's about putting that onto the pitch next game and then not to look too far ahead, but it's exciting to see what we can do with a decent pre-season as well. Build on the strengths we've built through mid-season and see where that takes us.' It's been a roller coaster campaign for Edinburgh who lost their opening three games but finished strongly, with bonus-point victories over Connacht and Ulster. The 10 points gathered in their final two league matches catapulted them into the top eight as Cardiff lost to the Stormers in South Africa on Friday night. Combined with a run to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, Bradbury said recent weeks had taken their toll both physically and mentally on the squad. It was time now to 'rest up, saunas, keep off the beers' and focus on the quarter-final.
Scotsman
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Duhan van der Merwe fitness status ahead of Edinburgh play-off and Lions tour revealed
Winger has not featured since March 28 Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Edinburgh Rugby are hoping that Duhan van der Merwe will be fit for the United Rugby Championship play-offs after they booked their place in the last eight with a 47-17 win over Ulster on Friday evening. The powerful winger has not played since March 28 when he injured his ankle against the Dragons and had to come off after 11 minutes. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Van der Merwe, 29, has since been named in the British & Irish Lions squad for the summer tour of Australia but Edinburgh would love to have him available for their play-off quarter-final on May 31. Duhan van der Merwe during an Edinburgh Rugby training session at the Hive Stadium last week. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group 'We're hoping so,' said Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh head coach. 'He's running and he's doing really well. So we're definitely hoping that we have Duhan for the quarter-final.' In van der Merwe's absence, it was another talismanic winger who played a large part in Edinburgh's victory at Hive Stadium. Darcy Graham, who trails van der Merwe by one in the Scotland all-time try-scorers list, helped himself to a hat-trick against Ulster as Edinburgh secured the bonus-point win to guarantee their place in the play-offs for the first time in three years. Graham was a surprise omission from Andy Farrell's Lions squad when it was named last week but Everitt said the Hawick man had been dealing with the disappointment and also overcame a heel issue to play on Friday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'He's been struggling with a heel over the last couple of weeks, but this week he was feeling much better, and you could see it in his performance,' said Everitt. 'He's just got to keep on performing and make it really difficult for the Lions to leave him out should injuries occur. 'He's obviously disappointed - it's everyone's dream to play for the Lions. It's always going to be difficult when you've got four countries to choose from, and selection sometimes can be subjective. It's not always going to be factual, so we can't criticise the selection. Andy Farrell's an amazing coach and a really good selector, and he's done wonders with Ireland, so Darcy must just keep on going.' Darcy Graham stretches over the line. | SNS Group Edinburgh's squad will now have a few days off before, in the words of stand-in skipper Magnus Bradbury, it's time to 'tape the body up and go again'. Bradbury was immense on Friday, scoring two tries in an all-action display which encapsulated the improvement in Edinburgh's game in the second half of the campaign. The No 8 reckoned it was the team's most complete performance of the season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We talked about a fast start - last game at home, great night for it. But contrary to what we've done before, we kept the foot on the throat,' said Bradbury. 'We delivered on it. The boys did their jobs, we all did our jobs, and that's what happens when you get it right. 'We've had great games here before and great games away, but there's always been that 10-minute lapse. We didn't have that on Friday. We've challenged each other on that and we've been challenged by our coaches and we've delivered.' Bradbury has spoken before about a turning point in mid-season when the players stood up and took more responsibility but he refuted the suggestion that Edinburgh had been under-performing in the last couple of years. Magnus Bradbury scored two tries for Edinburgh in the win over Ulster on Friday. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group 'I think any club when you get a new coach, you have to go through that transition period. So under-performance is the wrong word for me,' said Bradbury. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We've had a huge mentality shift over the Six Nations. It's about putting that onto the pitch next game and then not to look too far ahead, but it's exciting to see what we can do with a decent pre-season as well. Build on the strengths we've built through mid-season and see where that takes us.' It's been a roller coaster campaign for Edinburgh who lost their opening three games but finished strongly, with bonus-point victories over Connacht and Ulster. The 10 points gathered in their final two league matches catapulted them into the top eight as Cardiff lost to the Stormers in South Africa on Friday night. Combined with a run to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, Bradbury said recent weeks had taken their toll both physically and mentally on the squad. It was time now to 'rest up, saunas, keep off the beers' and focus on the quarter-final.
