Latest news with #MarnusvanderMerwe
The South African
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Hoërskool De Aar has its first ever Springbok old boy
Loosehead prop Boan Venter made his Springbok debut on Saturday against Georgia at the Mbombela Stadium in Mbombela. Venter, 28, became Springbok #950 and scored a try in South Africa's 55-10 win. Born in Kimberley, Venter also became Hoërskool De Aar's first ever Springbok player. Hoërskool De Aar was founded 101 years ago in 1924. Meanwhile, Venter joined Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche in making their Springbok debuts against Georgia. Van der Merwe became Springbok #951 and Fouche is Springbok #952. The Test against Georgia had extra significance for Marnus van der Merwe who was born in Mbombela and attended Hoërskool Nelspruit. He became Hoërskool Nelspruit's sixth Springbok after Nico Wegner, Schutte Bekker, Duane Vermeulen, Marnitz Boshoff and team-mate on Saturday, Faf de Klerk, although De Klerk didn't matriculate from the school, but rather moved to Waterkloof. Finally, Neethling Fouche's selection gave Grey College their 49th Springbok of all time as they closed the gap on Paul Roos who lead the way with 56 Springbok old boys. Rank School Players 1 Paul Roos Gymnasium 56 2 Grey College 49 3 Diocesan College (Bishops) 43 4 SACS 32 5 Paarl Gimnasium 31 6 Paarl Boys High 26 7 Kimberley Boys' High 23 8 Rondebosch 21 T9 Grey High School 17 T9 Maritzburg College 17 11 Wynberg Boys High 15 12 Dale College 13 13 St Andrews, Grahamstown 12 T14 Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool 11 T14 Hottentots-Holland 11 Below, a full list of the SCHOOLS the Springbok squad last Saturday attended: Position Player School 15 Aphelele Fassi Dale College 14 Edwill van der Merwe Paul Roos 13 Canan Moodie Boland Landbou 12 Damian de Allende Milnerton 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse Paulus Joubert 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu Bishops 9 Grant Williams Paarl Gimnasium 8 Cobus Wiese Upington 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit Swartland 6 Siya Kolisi Grey High 5 Ruan Nortje Wonderboom 4 Eben Etzebeth Tygerberg 3 Neethling Fouche Grey College 2 Marnus van der Merwe Nelspruit 1 Boan Venter De Aar Reserves 16 Bongi Mbonambi Voortrekker 17 Thomas du Toit Paarl Boys' High 18 Vincent Koch Hugenote 19 RG Snyman Affies 20 Kwagga Smith HTS Middelburg 21 Faf de Klerk Waterkloof 22 Handre Pollard Paarl Gimnasium 23 Damian Willemse Paul Roos Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
'It's something you dream of as a kid,' says new Bok Marnus van der Merwe
Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries against Georgia on his official Springbok debut in his home town, Mbombela, on Saturday night. Springbok debutant Marnus van der Merwe said facing up to powerful and intimidating teammates Ox Nche and Wilco Louw helped sufficiently prepare him for the physicality brought by Georgia during the Boks' 55-10 win over the eastern Europeans at the Mbombela Stadium over the weekend. Van der Merwe, who received his first official Springbok cap, after he first wore the green and gold in the non-Test against the visiting Barbarians in Cape Town a few weeks ago, said that the debutants were well prepared thanks to the tough training they went through in the build up to the Test. It was also a dream start for the hooker, as he scored twice off the back of dominant rolling mauls, during his 44 minutes on the field before he was replaced early in the second half. 'The Georgians are definitely physical. But we train against guys like Ox (Nche), Wilco (Louw) and others like that, so we know what is physical. We make training as hard as we can to make sure we implement (what we want) in the game,' explained Van der Merwe. 'So it was definitely a physical match. But I think we trained hard enough during the week that we were well prepared for that. But we will properly reflect on the game next week.' Special game It was also an extra special game for the new Bok hooker as it was in his home town, with Van der Merwe having been born in Mbombela and attending Hoërskool Nelspruit. He represented the Pumas during his school career, before moving on to the Cheetahs and then Scarlets last year. 'It's something that's still sinking in and something that you look at and say wow it's actually happening. It's something you dream of as a kid. I was just taking it (the occasion) all in and letting it sink in,' said Van der Merwe about a home debut and the atmosphere. 'I think tomorrow morning (Sunday) I will actually stand up and tell my wife, 'listen, I am actually a Springbok'. So I am still processing it.' With him having played in Wales over the past franchise rugby season, Van der Merwe was asked how different it was training with the Boks, compared to what he experienced with Scarlets. 'The Springboks are number one, because of how hard we train and prepare. I don't think any club can come close to Test rugby (level) training. So it is definitely different (to what I experience in Wales with Scarlets),' he said. 'But I think that the intensity (training) is one of the things that surprises you when you get onto the field. And then how hard you actually work at scrums and mauls and that sort of stuff to get you ready for a game. You work harder at training to be better when it comes to the match.'
Japan Today
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Japan Today
Springboks crush Georgia with nine tries in final test before Rugby Championship
rugby union South Africa outmuscled and overwhelmed Georgia 55-10 on Saturday in its last match before its Rugby Championship title defense. South Africa gave its three starting front-rowers their test debuts and two of them, loosehead Boan Venter and hooker Marnus van der Merwe, scored the first two of the team's nine tries. Captain Siya Kolisi overcame various niggles to finally play his first test of the year and had to have a head injury check in the second minute. But he returned and played the whole match. Kolisi is certain to lead the Springboks in the Rugby Championship opener against Australia in four weeks at Ellis Park. The Georgians are not lightweights and showed off their heft and expertise with a rolling maul try for hooker Vano Karkadze in the third minute. But they had only a couple more try chances and were overturned by South Africa. The Springboks debuted seven players this month while also beating visitor Italy 42-24 and 45-0, but coach Rassie Erasmus said the experimenting was over. 'This was a series where we wanted to experiment a little bit so getting the scorelines we did is pretty satisfying, Erasmus said. 'But the Rugby Championship is definitely a step up." The Springboks look well in control by halftime at 22-10. Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries from lineout drives, and Venter from multiple phases. The fourth try of the half saw scrumhalf Grant Williams, riding his pack's dominance, split the defense and four passes later center Canan Moodie crashed over beside the right corner flag. As the Georgians flagged from the pummelling up front, the Springboks went wider in the second half and wing Edwill van der Merwe, no relation to Marnus, also scored two tries. Replacement back Damian Willemse punched through from scrum ball and, in the last couple of minutes, a couple of RG Snyman half breaks and offloads led to tries by backs Kurt-Lee Arendse and Handre Pollard. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scrappy Springboks overwhelm Georgia with nine tries
South Africa limbered up for their defence of the Rugby Championship with a comprehensive 55-10 victory over Georgia in Nelspruit on Saturday. The Springboks face Australia in their Rugby Championship opener in four weeks at Ellis Park. Debutant hooker Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries but the scoreline masked an error-strewn performance. Prop Boan Venter, centre Canan Moodie, wings Edwill van der Merwe (two) and Kurt-Lee Arendse, fullback Damian Willemse and flyhalf Handre Pollard also crossed as they ran in nine tries. But the Springboks served up double-digit handling errors, were poor at the lineout in the second half and could not get the upper hand at the breakdown. It was minutes in the tank at the start of the international season for several players, including captain Siya Kolisi on his return from injury. "Credit to the Georgians, physically they matched us most of the time. We struggled at the breakdown, where they were quite dominant," Kolisi said. This man clearly loves scoring tries 💥#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvGEO — Springboks (@Springboks) July 19, 2025 "We did not do enough positives one after the other. We would do something good and then make a mistake, which slowed us down. Hopefully, we can fix that." The hosts had three debutants in Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche as coach Rassie Erasmus stretched the number of players he has used in three games this year to 46. Georgia made a fast start and scored the opening try from a driving maul following a lineout, hooker Vano Karkadze powering his way over. "This was a great match for us to grow," Georgia flanker Luka Ivanishvili said. "It was my first time playing in this kind of atmosphere and these types of game are helping us to grow to the next World Cup (in 2027)."
Perth Now
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Scrappy Springboks overwhelm Georgia with nine tries
South Africa limbered up for their defence of the Rugby Championship with a comprehensive 55-10 victory over Georgia in Nelspruit on Saturday. The Springboks face Australia in their Rugby Championship opener in four weeks at Ellis Park. Debutant hooker Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries but the scoreline masked an error-strewn performance. Prop Boan Venter, centre Canan Moodie, wings Edwill van der Merwe (two) and Kurt-Lee Arendse, fullback Damian Willemse and flyhalf Handre Pollard also crossed as they ran in nine tries. But the Springboks served up double-digit handling errors, were poor at the lineout in the second half and could not get the upper hand at the breakdown. It was minutes in the tank at the start of the international season for several players, including captain Siya Kolisi on his return from injury. "Credit to the Georgians, physically they matched us most of the time. We struggled at the breakdown, where they were quite dominant," Kolisi said. "We did not do enough positives one after the other. We would do something good and then make a mistake, which slowed us down. Hopefully, we can fix that." The hosts had three debutants in Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche as coach Rassie Erasmus stretched the number of players he has used in three games this year to 46. Georgia made a fast start and scored the opening try from a driving maul following a lineout, hooker Vano Karkadze powering his way over. "This was a great match for us to grow," Georgia flanker Luka Ivanishvili said. "It was my first time playing in this kind of atmosphere and these types of game are helping us to grow to the next World Cup (in 2027)."
