Six Nations 2026: Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe returns from the wilderness with a point to prove

Richard Cockerill, the coach who brought him to Edinburgh in the first place, described him as a freak, which he was.

No one can legitimately claim that Van der Merwe, for all his power, speed and deadly finishing ability, is a complete rugby player. Certainly, it is not.

He may have come a long way since arriving in Edinburgh and failing his medical.

He had advanced dramatically beyond the point where Cockerill would close his eyes when the ball was in the air anywhere near him for fear he would drop it.

It is flawed, of course. But the upside? Historical amounts of it. Attempts by the bucket load – easy runs and brutal solos.

Give him a yard of grass, and as resistance, you’d better start saying your prayers.

His appearances in the emirate witnessed the worst and the best.

In 2022, in a dismal defeat for Scotland, the enduring image of him was negative, a man coughing up the ball and looking a little weak in the middle of the battle.

Two years later, he was a complete threat.

Russell’s creative, goal-scoring Van der Merwe, ran from inside the Wales 22 for the first and from a mile out for the second, a curling run that Wales saw coming but could do nothing to stop.

They will see him again on Saturday. Some of these Welsh players may see it in their nightmares before Saturday.

Van der Merwe may see this as the second chapter in his Scotland story, one that some felt he might have been slipping away amid the superiority of Steyn and Dube.

The brutality of rugby and Dobie’s injury have opened the door for him once again and he is not the type to knock politely. It was always his way to take something off its hinges. Wales would need no warning about the danger lurking on the left flank.