Jan van der Merwe (rugby union)

Jan van der Merwe (born 31 August 1995 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player who most recently played for the SWD Eagles.[1] His regular position is hooker.

Jan van der Merwe
Date of birth (1995-08-31) 31 August 1995
Place of birthPretoria, South Africa
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb)
SchoolPretoria Boys High School
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Youth career
2014–2016 Blue Bulls
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015–2016 UP Tuks 3 (0)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015 Blue Bulls 1 (0)
2016 Blue Bulls XV 7 (0)
2017–present SWD Eagles 9 (10)
Correct as of 14 April 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015 South Africa Under-20 5 (5)
Correct as of 14 April 2018

Career

Despite never earning a provincial call-up at high school level, Van der Merwe joined the Blue Bulls Academy after finishing high school and represented the Blue Bulls U19 side in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship, starting eight matches and making three substitute appearances as they reached the final of the competition, where they were defeated 26–33 by Western Province U19.[2]

He made his first class debut for the Blue Bulls on 6 March 2015, coming on as a late replacement in their 2015 Vodacom Cup match against the Falcons in Kempton Park, helping them to a 37–13 victory.[3]

He also played for UP Tuks in the 2015 Varsity Cup competition, starting their match against UJ[4] and playing off the bench on two occasions.

Despite initially not being named in a 37-man training squad for the South Africa national under-20 rugby union team,[5] he did feature for them in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team in April 2015. He came on as a first-half replacement and scored a try just after half-time in a 31–24 victory.[6] He was also included in the squad that embarked on a two-match tour of Argentina.[7] He came on as a replacement in their 25–22 victory over Argentina[8] and started their second tour match a few days later, in which he scored two first-half tries in a 39–28 victory.[9]

Upon the team's return, he was named in the final squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[10] He started their opening match in Pool B of the competition and got South Africa's first points in the competition by scoring a try in a 33–5 win against hosts Italy.[11] He played off the bench in their remaining two group stage fixtures, a 40–8 win against Samoa[12] and a 46–13 win over Australia[13] to help South Africa finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. Van der Merwe came on as a replacement in their semi-final match against England, but could not prevent them losing 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition by England for the second year in succession.[14] He started their third-place play-off match against France, helping South Africa to a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition.[15]

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References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Jan van der Merwe". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U19 33-26 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Hino Valke 13-37 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UJ 0-34 FNB UP - TUKS". South African Rugby Union. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  5. "Junior Bok training squad confirmed". South African Rugby Union. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Varsity Cup XV 24-31 South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  7. "SARU names Junior Bok squad for Argentine tour". South African Rugby Union. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  8. "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 25 a 22". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  9. "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 39 a 28". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  10. "Liebenberg to lead Junior Boks at U20 World Championship in Italy". South African Rugby Union. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy U20 5-33 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40-8 Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 46-13 Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 20-28 England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – France U20 18-31 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
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