LittleGuy
First XV
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- Oct 3, 2010
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Information and Interview courtesy of rugbycanada.ca and their freelance reporter Jeff Hull.
"Nearly four years ago, an injury to Justin Mensah-Coker opened a path for DTH Van der Merwe to start on the wing for Canada vs. Wales at the 2007 World Cup. Van der Merwe announced his presence early in the match, with a hit on Shane Williams that helped dictate Canada's physical dominance for the first 60 minutes of that memorable contest.
The future seemed a bright one, with English Premiership clubs such as Saracens, knocking on his door. However, a series of injury setbacks meant that Van der Merwe would have to wait to join the ranks of Canada's overseas professionals. Now, in his second season with the Glasgow Warriors, Canada's star outside centre is showing his class; he currently stands second in the Magners League try scoring race.
For his efforts, the Warriors awarded Van der Merwe a new two-year contract yesterday, an achievement that Coach Sean Lineed was please to see finalized.
“It’s great news for the team and for the supporters as well,†said Lineen. “He wants to stay which is important and to have an X-Factor player like that makes all the difference. He’s a great weapon to have out on the wing.
“He is a good player, has a good attitude and is a quality athlete.†(GlasgowWarriors.org)
Van der Merwe himself was excited about the signing, as he readies himself for an exciting summer schedule with Canada leading up to the World Cup.
“I’ve enjoyed my time with Glasgow and I now want to build on what we have here,†he said. “We’ve had a bit of a slow season this year, but we can only build from here and hopefully, over the next five games, we can start that process for next season.
A lot of the players here have over 100 caps for the club and are still only 24 or 25 years old so there is a lot of experience, internationally as well, despite them being young guys. They will be a key factor for Glasgow in the years to come.
I definitely want play well, stay fit and continue to play well for Glasgow. Hopefully, that will be good enough to play for Canada, and then we'll take it from there, going into the World Cup." (GlasgowWarriors.org)
With fellow Canadian Kevin Tkachuk in their line-up, the Warriors managed to win their last match versus Treviso, by a score of 25 - 17, so perhaps some of the end-of-season momentum that Van der Merwe was hoping for, has started to materialize."
For me I think this is great news DTH has played really well this season for Glasgow and is emerging as possibly Canada's best player in rugby union. The competetion for the overseas spots is extremely tough and its nice to see both DTH and Kevin Tkachuk find spots in the Magners League.
"Nearly four years ago, an injury to Justin Mensah-Coker opened a path for DTH Van der Merwe to start on the wing for Canada vs. Wales at the 2007 World Cup. Van der Merwe announced his presence early in the match, with a hit on Shane Williams that helped dictate Canada's physical dominance for the first 60 minutes of that memorable contest.
The future seemed a bright one, with English Premiership clubs such as Saracens, knocking on his door. However, a series of injury setbacks meant that Van der Merwe would have to wait to join the ranks of Canada's overseas professionals. Now, in his second season with the Glasgow Warriors, Canada's star outside centre is showing his class; he currently stands second in the Magners League try scoring race.
For his efforts, the Warriors awarded Van der Merwe a new two-year contract yesterday, an achievement that Coach Sean Lineed was please to see finalized.
“It’s great news for the team and for the supporters as well,†said Lineen. “He wants to stay which is important and to have an X-Factor player like that makes all the difference. He’s a great weapon to have out on the wing.
“He is a good player, has a good attitude and is a quality athlete.†(GlasgowWarriors.org)
Van der Merwe himself was excited about the signing, as he readies himself for an exciting summer schedule with Canada leading up to the World Cup.
“I’ve enjoyed my time with Glasgow and I now want to build on what we have here,†he said. “We’ve had a bit of a slow season this year, but we can only build from here and hopefully, over the next five games, we can start that process for next season.
A lot of the players here have over 100 caps for the club and are still only 24 or 25 years old so there is a lot of experience, internationally as well, despite them being young guys. They will be a key factor for Glasgow in the years to come.
I definitely want play well, stay fit and continue to play well for Glasgow. Hopefully, that will be good enough to play for Canada, and then we'll take it from there, going into the World Cup." (GlasgowWarriors.org)
With fellow Canadian Kevin Tkachuk in their line-up, the Warriors managed to win their last match versus Treviso, by a score of 25 - 17, so perhaps some of the end-of-season momentum that Van der Merwe was hoping for, has started to materialize."
For me I think this is great news DTH has played really well this season for Glasgow and is emerging as possibly Canada's best player in rugby union. The competetion for the overseas spots is extremely tough and its nice to see both DTH and Kevin Tkachuk find spots in the Magners League.
