There is one South Africa-born player in the Six Nations who would definitely be featuring for the Springboks on current form.
In the ongoing Six Nations tournament, there are five South Africa-born players selected in this year’s squads, with the northern hemisphere tournament having just hit the halfway mark.
South Africa is not just a breeding ground for star players on the local front, it is also known to be a production line for foreign nations who have cashed in on World Rugby’s residency laws to stock their ranks with South African-born players.
Big lock Paul Willemse has returned to the fold for France, but it’s the Scotland squad that really has a strong “Saffa” flavor, with forwards WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman joined by backs Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Steyn in the lineup.
Looking through this list, though, it appears that Van der Merwe is the only “Saffa” who would play for the Springboks in their current configuration.
Despite his massive weight (105kg) and height (1.93m), the powerful wing has the speed of a race horse.
The George-born University of Pretoria alumnus scored a spectacular hat-trick of tries to guarantee Scotland’s Calcutta Cup retention over England this past weekend.
THE SIX NATIONS STAR WOULD SURELY FIT INTO THE SPRINGBOKS’ SYSTEM
Van der Merwe played all of his junior rugby in South Africa, while he earned a couple of caps for the Bulls and the Junior Springboks.
However, he then moved abroad, having first signed up with Scotland club Edinburgh in 2017. Van der Merwe became available for the Scottish Test team in 2020, and has since gone on to feature in over 35 games.
If he was still available, the big man would undoubtedly be a serious contender for the Springboks because of his strength, stature, mobility, and X factor.
With players like Makazole Mapimpi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Cheslin Kolbe, the Springboks have ample of depth on the wing; yet, Van der Merwe’s toughness and strength would certainly present a whole different kind of threat.
When everything is taken into account, the Scotland and Six Nations standout should be a fixture in the Springboks’ matchday 23 lineup.
