Flying winger brushes off allegiance jibes and cannot wait for Australia after a testing Lions tour in 2021
D
uhan van der Merwe does not want to shake hands. It is not that the hulking Scotland winger is being rude – he is polite to a fault – but after a gruelling gym session the British & Irish Lion has blisters as big as golf balls. A fist bump – a touch daunting given the size of his biceps – must suffice.
Van der Merwe’s war wounds are the first indication that public perception about him can be misleading and there are many to follow in the ensuing half-hour. From an impassioned response to accusations he is a “SpringJock”, to discussing why he runs roughshod over England once a year, Van der Merwe is illuminating company.
He is 6ft 4in and looks carved from Rustenburg granite. There is something cartoonish about the way he thunders past – or through – defenders and with gleaming blond hair he can list Johnny Bravo and Action Man as doppelgangers. Yet “show pony” and “flat-track bully” are brushes he can be tarred with. “I probably make my life a little bit more difficult by diving into the corners when I don’t have to,” he says with a chuckle. “Sometimes it’s just getting that nice photo, that’s why I dive.”
