Van der Merwe raring to go in biggest match of his career

Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe admitted that facing the Wallabies on Saturday in the opening round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship was undoubtedly the biggest challenge in his Test career so far, and he was thrilled to play his first Test match at Ellis Park, his former home ground.

The Bok speedster has played only three Tests to date – one against Wales in 2024 and one each against Italy and Georgia during the Castle Lager Incoming Series – and although he has made a strong statement with his sweeping runs and scoring an impressive five tries in those outings, Van der Merwe said the main concern for him this week was to do his job, rather than trying to build on his try-scoring statistics.

He has been named in Cheslin Kolbe’s place on the wing as the national coaches decided to give the double Rugby World Cup-winner an extra week of training after recovering from a niggle but Van der Merwe was not perturbed about trying to fill Kolbe’s boots.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to play against Australia and to take the field in a Test for the first time at Ellis Park,” said Van der Merwe.

“This is an opportunity and a new challenge to improve my game. That’s where my focus is presently.

“There’s an expectation if you play for the Springboks and it is hard to become one and equally hard to stay here, so each day we go onto the field, training is a challenge and an opportunity to improve and the key for me is to be able to say that with each session I got better.

“Scoring a try is a bonus. I’m more focussed on my position in the system.”

Commenting on what he expected against the Wallabies, the Sports Science graduate said: “I’ve always watched and heard about the rivalry between the teams, so it’s going to be special to play against them.

“They are a big, physical team, who started building momentum against the British & Irish Lions in Australia and they’ve improved a lot. I expect the breakdown to be a focus point in the Test and I’m looking forward to it.”

Asked about the pressure on him to build on his try-scoring record, he said: “There is no pressure on me to score tries but rather to ensure that I’m accurate in implementing what the coaches want me to do. As I said before tries would be a bonus.

“The main challenge is to make the right decisions, both on attack and defence and especially against the stronger teams that have more experience.”

Springbok starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams; 8 Siya Kolisi (capt), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden; 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth; 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Canan Moodie, 23 Damian Willemse.

Wallaby starting XV: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch; 10 James O'Connor, 9 Nic White; 8 Harry Wilson (capt), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper; 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost; 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper. Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tane Edmed, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Andrew Kellaway.

South Africa v Australia - Saturday @ Emirates Airline Park (5.10pm)

Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR)

Assistant Referees: James Doleman (NZR), Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

Television Match Official: Tual Trainini (FFR)

FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZR)

Broadcast: SuperSport Rugby