'I wish, mate': Duhan van der Merwe put through Lions mill as he reveals fitness status

Van der Merwe woke up on Thursday morning not knowing whether Lions head coach Andy Farrell would put him on the plane to Australia. Under normal circumstances, the Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland winger would have been a shoo-in for the summer tour, given his try-scoring record, pace and power. But the 29-year-old has been struck down by an ankle injury that required surgery last month. He has not played a competitive match since March 28.

After making the cut, the chances are that his next outing will be in the red of the Lions rather than the dark blue of Edinburgh. His club team will need to reach the play-offs to give Van der Merwe an opportunity. He continues to recover from the operation and is confident he will be fit and firing come the end of June, when the Lions commence their ten-match odyssey, For now, he is just happy to be in the conversation.

"I wish, mate,” laughed Van der Merwe when asked if anyone from the Lions had asked about his injury status. “I've not heard anything. Thursday would have been a lot easier if I did. So, you go into days like that and you don't know anything. You just have to switch on the telly and hopefully see your name being announced.

“I imagine they've spoken to our head physio or something like that. Because, like I said, I didn't really know what was going on. You don't know if they're having these conversations or not. I can't be out on the pitch putting my best foot forward. So, for me, it's kind of like thinking in the back of my head, like, 'are you guys updating them? Like, you know, how well I'm doing and how far ahead of schedule I actually am'. I didn't really know much, to be honest.

"I'm still shocked, to be honest. It's an unbelievable next couple of weeks coming up for me because I've got a real opportunity now. Other boys will be playing week in and week out. And, you know, when you get towards the end of the season, it's tough to constantly work on something you want to work on. So, for me, I've got a real opportunity to really look after my body and work on the bits I want to work on. So, for me, that's very exciting.”

How Van der Merwe got injured

Van der Merwe’s Lions chances were put in jeopardy during a United Rugby Championship match at home to Dragons when he hurt his ankle. At first, he did not think much of it - but when he discovered he needed a scan and then surgery, the emotion spilled out.

"Yes, I was in tears,” he said when told he had to go under the knife. “I guess I didn't know what's next for me. I guess at the same time, when I found out that I'm not going to be out for very long, I thought, I've got a real shot here. So, I guess coming into the announcement today, that was playing in the back of my mind that I've not played, I've got a wee niggle going on. So, going in today was pretty tough for me, to be honest.

“I came in on the Monday and I said to them, ‘why are we scanning me? I don't need a scan’. I thought I'd just twisted my ankle a wee bit or something. And then we went for the scan and I'm like, me always making a joke, we're wasting money! I don't need a scan! And then obviously got the results back and didn't really know what's next for me.

“Normally it takes maybe the next day [for scan results], you find out. I found out in four hours. I got a phone call from my physio and didn't really expect much. And he said, 'yeah, it's a wee bit more serious than we thought'. So, again, then went to go see the doctor that did the surgery on me immediately.

“You go into these kinds of things and you think the worst. When someone says to you, 'you need to get surgery', you're thinking, 'oh, it's going to be three, four months'. So, me coming out of that, knowing that it's just going to be a couple of weeks, I guess was a wee bit positive as well.

“It was a bit of a weird one because I thought I'd be out for longer, having to get surgery. So, at the same time, I thought 'I've still got a real shot here'.”

Plan for rest of season

Van der Merwe doesn’t expect to feature in Edinburgh’s two remaining regular URC matches. "Probably not,” he explained. “I was going to try and play for Edinburgh in the final of the Challenge Cup, which is two-and-a-bit weeks away. Unfortunately, we lost against Bath, so hopefully the boys can get some points out of the next two games and I can be back for a [play-off] quarter-final.

“I’m not too far away. I'm really positive. Each day I come out to run, I just feel better and better. At the same time, it gives me four or five weeks to get in unbelievable shape because I'm not really out on the pitch, out and about, so I can really look after my body, work on the niggles I've got and just work on my speed. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks.”

He does not think he necessarily needs 80 minutes before joining up with the Lions. “Funnily enough, when I played against England away, when I scored that 'lucky try', I call it, I looked back, I hadn't played for five weeks before that,” he smiled. “For me, I feel I've done enough over the last eight years to go into a game with confidence. I don't need to potentially play to go into the next game with confidence.”

This will not be Van der Merwe’s first Lions rodeo. He started all three Tests four years ago in South Africa and is itching to come out on the right side of it this time around after a painful series loss.

"It's not going to be easy, you know, getting into that test squad,” said Van der Merwe. “And that's the exciting part that, you know, you've potentially got a couple of games before the test to really put your hand up. So for me, you know, I look at that as a real opportunity to potentially get selected for one of the tests. And again, you know, four years ago, we didn't win the series. So hopefully this time around we go out there and win the series.”

He will be linking up with some old friends and travelling with his pal, Edinburgh teammate and business partner Pierre Schoeman, with the prop also picked by Farrell.

Good for business

"The whisky business' value has just gone up, to be honest!” laughed Van der Merwe. “But no, I'm buzzing for him. I know how nervous he was, you know, and we've been speaking about this for the last year or so. Schoemy's maybe a wee bit longer, you know, he really wanted to go on this tour. So, aye, absolutely buzzing for him.

“And players from before, like I've played with Elliot Daly on the previous tour and, you know, Fin Smith was my fly half at Worcester. So, I guess, you know, that's exciting linking up with him again.”