Veteran support gives Edwill van der Merwe the assurance to go full throttle against Italy on Saturday in his first Test on South African soil.
Edwill van der Merwe makes only his second appearance for the Boks – more than a year after his debut against Wales at Twickenham. Because of the time which has elapsed between his first and second Tests, for Van der Merwe it’ll feel like a debut which will add to the butterflies in his stomach. It’ll also be his first Test at home, in front of passionate South African supporters and his family.
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Van der Merwe isn’t fussed though because he has ample experience in the back-three with him. Willie Le Roux plays his 100th Test while Makazole Mapimpi has 46 under his belt.
“A guy like Willie brings a lot of experience and Mapimpi has helped me a lot with the small areas of my game,” said the 29-year-old. “It’s just about leaning on those guys for advice and some tricks of the trade. They’ve been there and done that, so playing with them gives me a lot of confidence.”
On the inevitable comparison between himself, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe and living up to what they’ve done in the green and gold so far, Van der Merwe says he won’t be trying to copy what they do.
“They are the gold standard, but for me it’s about being myself. I think I’ve been selected in this group for something I bring uniquely as well. It’s about expressing myself and just doing my job in the system.”
But the Paul Roos old boy says he’s learning as much from them as he can.
“They’re probably the top two wings in the world at the moment, so for me to learn from these guys, see what they’re doing and try to apply it to my game. The nice thing about this environment is everybody helps each other and wants the guy who’s playing on the weekend to be the best he can be for South Africa.”
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Photo by Paul Harding/Gallo Images
