by The hunt has been going on for years. Will there ever be another brutal shuttler great enough to be mentioned in the same breath as the late great Jonah Lomu? Many, from the fearsome Alesana Tuilagi and Nemani Nadolo to the formidable Taqele Naiyaravoro and Joe Cokanasiga, have auditioned, failing to match Lomu’s career tally of 37 tries in 63 Tests between 1994 and 2002.
More, however, there is a new competitor. Although Duhan van der Merwe may not be close to Lomu’s physical dimensions, he is a large specimen at 106kg and 1.93 meters tall. And last Saturday, amid Scotland’s hurling Six Nations win over England, his Calcutta Cup hat-trick extended his career tally to 26 tries in just 37 Tests since his debut against Georgia in October 2020 .
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His ratio of just over 0.7 attempts per game is now better than those of Lomu, Bryan Habana, David Campese, Shane Williams, Joe Rokocoko and Jason Robinson, to name just a few wing legends. Barring a number of distinguished former Colleagues including Doug Howlett, Christian Cullen, and Jeff Wilson, the only other big names in the frame are prolific streaker Julian Savea, who scored 46 tries in 56 Tests, and Will Jordan, who has 31 tries in 31. Tests currently puts him at the top of the pile.
Van der Merwe, however, is not playing for a rampant All Black side cutting opponents to shreds on a weekly basis. He is representing Scotland and, in some ways, he is just getting started. At 28 years of age he should still have several years of carnage to break, with Italy the next potential speed bumps on Saturday week. If you were a betting man you’d be tempted to back him, if possible, to double his current try and propel himself into the half-dozen worst in the game’s history.
It would really be a great thing for someone who is considered surplus to requirements in his home country. Van der Merwe represented South Africa under-20s before injury struck and, in the end, he opted to go abroad, first to Montpellier and then to Edinburgh. Apart from a season at Worcester he has been based in the Scottish capital since 2017.
And what a CV he is starting to build. So far he has 14 tries in 16 Six Nations matches and is behind Scotland’s try scorer, Stuart Hogg, who registered 27 in his 100 Tests. If his competition in Europe is as sharp it is probably his Scottish counterpart Darcy Graham, but it is the kind of try that Van der Merwe is scoring that most marks him out as something different.
Another great example was Murrayfield at the weekend. If he looked confident with the line at the mercy of his first score, his second from over 60 meters was a stunner. Seeing him in thrilling counter-attacking mode, leaving England’s cover for dead down the left-hand line, was like watching a big cat tilt across the African plains.
And if Finn Russell’s cross bounced up nicely for his third, England had long received the message clearly. As at Twickenham last year, when his two tries helped secure another famous victory in Scotland, Van der Merwe’s finishing instincts are becoming increasingly common among the modern wonders of the rugby world. He’s not quite Lomu-esque yet, perhaps, but the strength to bounce people off and the pace to leave them adrift is making him more attractive at the box office wherever he plays.
Its success is also highlighting an emerging trend in the modern game. For a while the catch forward was all about trucking it or half backs looking for dissent or big centers attacking soft shoulders down the middle. Now, with the pitch so crowded and teams like England adopting a defensive blitz in midfield, the most successful sides tend to have serious attacking threats on the outside.
Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse of South Africa are not huge but they are two great space invaders. Ireland’s success was the result of a few factors but among them was the full participation of James Lowe and Mack Hansen. One of England’s failings, by contrast, was a reluctance to trust at least one strike runner on the wing. Every team needs some dynamism somewhere and the smarter coaches understand that it pays to put the ball into the hands of their most lethal weapon more often.
Perhaps the ultimate example, with apologies to Scotland’s “Van the Man”, came in the “derby” in Paris between Racing 92 and Stade Francais at the weekend. All the effort scored by winger Stade Peniasi Dakuwaqa gone viral and deservedly so. Apart from scurrying around in his own back area, sneaking through his own posts, chipping and collecting the ball without delay and then burning the cover to score at the other end, he was nothing to write home about.
The effort of the decade? Maybe a lot. Although we were making similar claims about Henry Arundell’s a scintillating solo score for Irish London in Toulon not so long ago. Either way, exciting wide-ranging endeavors undoubtedly add to the sport’s appeal, so much so that the game needs to encourage more players to try out the world more often. As Van der Merwe demonstrates, there is no better sight in rugby than that of a top athlete exploring the art of possibility.
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