Danie van der Merwe

Not to be confused with Danie van der Merwe, a rugby union scrum-half born in 1985 that played for the South African Under-19 team in 2004 and provincial rugby for the Blue Bulls from 2004–06, for Western Province in 2008 and the Boland Cavaliers in 2009.

Daniel Joubert van der Merwe (born (1989-01-24)24 January 1989 in Frankfort, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player who last played for the Griffons.^[1] His regular position is prop.

Danie van der Merwe

Danie_playing_99th_cap.jpg
Full name	Daniel Joubert van der Merwe
Date of birth	(1989-01-24) 24 January 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth	Frankfort, South Africa
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight	120 kg (18 st 13 lb; 265 lb)
School	Hoërskool Wilgerivier, Frankfort
University	University of Johannesburg / Central University of Technology
Notable relative(s)	[Fanie van der Merwe]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop Youth career 2005–2007 Griffons 2008–2010 Golden Lions Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2011–2014 CUT Ixias 27 (45) Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2010 Golden Lions XV 1 (0) 2012–2018 Griffons 99 (100) Correct as of 27 October 2018

Career

Youth

Van der Merwe was selected to represent his local provincial side, the Griffons at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week tournament in 2005 and at the Under-18 Craven Week tournaments in both 2006 and 2007. He also represented the Griffons U19 in the 2007 Under-19 Provincial Championship.

Golden Lions

In 2008, Van der Merwe moved to Johannesburg, where he joined the Golden Lions. He represented the Golden Lions U19s in the 2008 Under-19 Provincial Championship and the Golden Lions U21s in the Under-21 Provincial Championships in 2009 and 2010.

In 2010, he was also included in the Golden Lions' squad for the 2010 Vodacom Cup. He made his first class debut for the Lions in their match against Van der Merwe's former side, the Griffons, coming on as a second-half substitute to help them to a 48–16 victory in Welkom.^[2]

CUT Ixias and Griffons

Van der Merwe moved back to the Free State in 2011 to enroll at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein. He played Varsity Rugby for their side, the CUT Ixias, in the inaugural Varsity Shield competition. CUT eventually won the competition, beating Wits 25–18 in the final.^[3] However, they failed to win promotion to the 2012 Varsity Cup competition, losing 43–50 to TUT Vikings after extra time in the promotion play-off match.^[4]

He made nine appearances for CUT in the 2012 Varsity Shield competition – scoring tries against Wits^[5] and UFH Blues^[6] during the regular season as CUT once again finished top of the log. However, despite Van der Merwe scoring his third try of the campaign in the final against Wits, they lost the match 17–19 to remain in the Varsity Shield competition for another two years.^[7]

Van der Merwe's performances didn't go unnoticed and he was included in the Griffons squad for the 2012 Vodacom Cup at the conclusion of the Varsity Shield. He made his debut for the Griffons in their Round Six match against the Falcons and had an extraordinary start to his Griffons career, scoring the opening try of the match in the first minute to help them to a 38–33 victory, their only win of the season.^[8] He also scored a try in his second appearance for the Griffons, a late consolation in a 28–50 defeat to the Blue Bulls in their final match of the regular season.^[9] He made his Currie Cup debut during the 2012 Currie Cup First Division season, making a single substitute appearance in a 13–20 defeat to the SWD Eagles in George.^[10]

He was once again a key player for the CUT Ixias during the 2013 Varsity Shield, playing in all nine of their matches during the competition as they won the competition for the second time in three seasons. He also scored one try against TUT Vikings.^[11] At the conclusion of the season, he again joined the Griffons for the conclusion of the 2013 Vodacom Cup competition, where he made three appearances. He established himself as the Griffons first-choice tighthead prop during the 2013 Currie Cup First Division, starting ten matches and coming on as a replacement in a further two matches. The Griffons finished in sixth place, missing out on a semi-final berth.

A dominant 2014 Varsity Shield season with CUT Ixias followed, as the side won all nine matches during the competition. Van der Merwe had a very productive season, scoring five tries in his side's run to help them earn promotion to the 2015 Varsity Cup. Two starts for the Griffons followed in the 2014 Vodacom Cup and he then started in all six of their matches during the 2014 Currie Cup qualification tournament as they finished in third position to qualify to the 2014 Currie Cup First Division. Van der Merwe also scored his first try in the Currie Cup competition in a 24–43 defeat to eventual winners Griquas.^[12] He made three appearances in the regular season of the First Division to help the Griffons finish in second spot in the competition. He played off the bench in their 45–43 semi-final victory against the SWD Eagles,^[13] as well as the final, where he helped the Griffons to a 23–21 victory against the Falcons,^[14] to win their first trophy for six years.^[15]

References

1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Danie van der Merwe". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Griffons 16–48 Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Wits 18–25 CUT". South African Rugby Union. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
4. "TUT survive extra-time thriller". Varsity Cup. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – CUT 25–12 Wits". South African Rugby Union. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – CUT 34–19 UFH". South African Rugby Union. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – CUT 17–19 Wits". South African Rugby Union. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Valke 33–38 Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Griffons 28–50 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 20–13 Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB CUT 42–20 FNB TUT". South African Rugby Union. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 24–43 GWK Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 45–43 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 23–21 Valke". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
15. "Currie Cup Griffons win First Division title". Sport24. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.