Duhan van der Merwe exhibited a surprising and admirable degree of honest introspection as he reflected on his performance against Georgia in Scotland’s last World Cup warm-up match against Georgia at Murrayfield just over a fortnight ago.
The big winger may have started and finished Scotland’s comeback win after finding themselves 6-0 down at half-time with his tries book-ending scored by Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey and Kyle Steyn, but van der Merwe chose to focus instead on a moment when Finn Russell helped to dig him out of a hole of his own making.
The 28-year-old believes that episode demonstrated the progress he has made in his own development as a player, the growing maturity of Scotland’s stand-off and the general sense of cohesion within the squad at the moment.
“As a winger you maybe get two or three opportunities in a game so if you make a mistake then quite often you don’t have an opportunity to get straight back into the game, unlike like a back rower who has to make tackles to get to the next ruck,” explained van der Merwe.
“So, it can get a bit lonely for two or three minutes when you have a think about everything and there was a period against Georgia when I had a bit of head loss for a couple of minutes and Finn said: ‘Do you fancy carrying’ – and he got me on ball again.
“I’d made the switch and he saw that and showed the way he has matured. He is a leader in our squad and for him to come up to me knowing that I was down or whatever and he wanted to get me on board and back in the game was quite special.
“I thanked him for that after the game and he just said: ‘The head loss came on, but we need you’.”
Van der Merwe stressed that he has taken steps to cut down on those periods of on-field introspection which can distract him from the task at hand, and he promised that it won’t be an issue when Scotland kick-off their World Cup campaign against South Africa – the country of his birth – a week today.
“I live for perfection and want to give my best for Scotland,” he said. “When you make a mistake then another mistake it can sometimes get to you, but I have been working on that over the years and it is definitely loads better.
“The Georgia game was probably a confidence booster for me being able to make that switch in just a couple of minutes.
“Aaron Walsh is our mental skills coach. He is at the Chiefs as well and is a brilliant guy,” the winger continued. “I have sat down with him, and it is amazing how he understands me.
“He said after the game that it was brilliant to see me make that switch back after four minutes, but let’s get it down to two minutes to get you back into the game again, so I’ll keep on working with him.
Van der Merwe added: “I’m looking at the South Africa game as simply another Test match because if I get too emotional about being born there it may affect the way I prepare.
“Obviously, it is a big Test match because it is the first game of the World Cup, but I don’t think I have anything to prove because my career started in Scotland. All I want to do is go well for Scotland.
“I like the way South Africa are playing at the moment because they have been mixing it up a fair bit but we know their power game is something they will always go back to, so we know what is coming and it is about meeting that challenge head-on”
With van der Merwe currently on 20 tries from 31 appearances (a 65 percent strike rate), Darcy Graham on 19 tries in 54 appearances (54 percent) and Steyn on nine from 13 appearances (69 percent), there is no shortage of firepower available to play on the wing for Scotland’s at the moment.
While questions persist about van der Merwe’s proficiency under the high ball and his game awareness, the 28-year-old’s bulk – 6ft 4ins and 106kgs – ability to swat aside defenders like flies, and eye for the try-line mean it would be a shock if he were to miss out on selection against the world champions in seven days’ time.
“I like the physical side of things,” he concluded. “Sometimes I just have to offer up my body and run into big forwards and if I have to do that for the team then I will do it any time of the day.
“The great thing from our perspective is that the guys inside really want to get us on ball. Wee Darcy pops up everywhere. I am obviously a bit bigger and can’t get everywhere but try my best.”
