SPOTLIGHT: Bulls hooker Akker van der Merwe’s dream to represent the Springboks are still alive and well, despite heading into his golden playing years.

The 33-year-old made his Test debut back in 2018 against Wales when Rassie Erasmus took the reigns from Allister Coetzee in a 20-22 defeat in Washington DC.

He went on to play two further Tests in a victorious series against Eddie Jones’ England at the time – with all three of his Test appearances coming off the bench.

Now seven years later, ‘the angry warthog’ as he’s fondly known made it clear that he came back to South Africa after a stint in Manchester with the Sale Sharks with his Bok ambitions still strong.

“I didn’t come back to South Africa to go through the motions, I still want to play for the Springboks,” Van der Merwe told @rugby365com

“It’s not about playing for myself, it’s playing for the team and making sure I execute my role 110 percent.”