Duhan van der Merwe (born 4 June 1995) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and the Scotland national team. Born in South Africa, he represents Scotland having qualified on residency grounds.
Van der Merwe's rugby career began in George, South Africa, playing for Outeniqua High School before gaining provincial recognition in youth tournaments. He impressed at the Craven Week, earning a spot on the South Africa Schools team and excelling in the Under-18 International Series.
Transitioning to the professional level, he joined the Blue Bulls' academy in 2014 and made his mark with the South Africa under-20 squad at the World Rugby U20 Championship. He continued to shine domestically with the Blue Bulls and UP Tuks, leading as a top scorer in the Varsity Cup. His international career began when he became eligible for Scotland in 2020, and he has since represented the nation in the Six Nations Championship and the Rugby World Cup, becoming their all-time top try scorer in 2024.
Infobox
2014
South Africa U20
2016
Blue Bulls
Born
(1995-06-04) 4 June 1995 (age 30)George, Western Cape, South Africa
Height
1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight
106 kg (234 lb; 16 st 10 lb)
School
Hoërskool Outeniqua [af]
University
University of Pretoria
Notable relative
Akker van der Merwe (brother)
Position
Wing
Current team
Edinburgh
Years
Team
2016–2017
Montpellier
2017–2021
Edinburgh
2021–2022
Worcester Warriors
2022–
Edinburgh
2020–
Scotland
2021, 2025
British & Irish Lions
Tables
· Career statistics › List of international tries
Multi-metric bars
World heat map
1
1
No.
1
Date
23 October 2020
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Georgia
Score
39–7
Result
48–7
Competition
2020 end-of-year rugby union internationals
2
2
No.
2
Date
14 November 2020
Venue
Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy
Opponent
Italy
Score
5–6
Result
28–17
Competition
Autumn Nations Cup
3
3
No.
3
Date
5 December 2020
Venue
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
Opponent
Ireland
Score
14–18
Result
16–31
Competition
Autumn Nations Cup
4
4
No.
4
Date
6 February 2021
Venue
Twickenham Stadium, London, England
Opponent
England
Score
8–3
Result
11–6
Competition
2021 Six Nations Championship
5
5
No.
5
Date
20 March 2021
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Italy
Score
10–7
Result
52–10
Competition
2021 Six Nations Championship
6
6
No.
6
Date
50–10
7
7
No.
7
Date
26 March 2021
Venue
Stade de France, Paris, France
Opponent
France
Score
5–3
Result
27–23
Competition
2021 Six Nations Championship
8
8
No.
8
Date
25–23
9
9
No.
9
Date
26 June 2021
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Japan
Score
12–0
Result
28–10
Competition
2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa
10
10
No.
10
Date
20 November 2021
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Japan
Score
5–0
Result
29–20
Competition
2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals
11
11
No.
11
Date
26 February 2022
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
France
Score
15–36
Result
17–36
Competition
2022 Six Nations Championship
12
12
No.
12
Date
16 July 2022
Venue
Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina
Opponent
Argentina
Score
5–3
Result
31–34
Competition
2022 mid-year rugby union tests
13
13
No.
13
Date
26–13
14
14
No.
14
Date
5 November 2022
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Fiji
Score
19–12
Result
28–12
Competition
2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals
15
15
No.
15
Date
19 November 2022
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Argentina
Score
12–7
Result
52–29
Competition
2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals
16
16
No.
16
Date
4 February 2023
Venue
Twickenham Stadium, London, England
Opponent
England
Score
12–5
Result
29–23
Competition
2023 Six Nations Championship
17
17
No.
17
Date
27–23
18
18
No.
18
Date
18 March 2023
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Italy
Score
5–3
Result
26–14
Competition
2023 Six Nations Championship
19
19
No.
19
Date
12 August 2023
Venue
Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France
Opponent
France
Score
15–27
Result
27–30
Competition
2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
20
20
No.
20
Date
26 August 2023
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Georgia
Score
5–6
Result
33–6
Competition
2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
21
21
No.
21
Date
33–6
22
22
No.
22
Date
24 September 2023
Venue
Stade de Nice, Nice, France
Opponent
Tonga
Score
12–10
Result
45–17
Competition
2023 Rugby World Cup
23
23
No.
23
Date
3 February 2024
Venue
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Opponent
Wales
Score
18–0
Result
27–26
Competition
2024 Six Nations Championship
24
24
No.
24
Date
25–0
25
25
No.
25
Date
24 February 2024
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
England
Score
5–10
Result
30–21
Competition
2024 Six Nations Championship
26
26
No.
26
Date
12–10
27
27
No.
27
Date
22–13
28
28
No.
28
Date
12 July 2024
Venue
Audi Field, Washington DC, United States
Opponent
United States
Score
5–0
Result
42–7
Competition
2024 mid-year rugby union tests
29
29
No.
29
Date
27 July 2024
Venue
Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay
Opponent
Uruguay
Score
19-0
Result
31–19
Competition
2024 mid-year rugby union tests
30
30
No.
30
Date
2 November 2024
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Fiji
Score
48-17
Result
57–17
Competition
2024 end-of-year rugby union internationals
31
31
No.
31
Date
24 November 2024
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Australia
Score
17-6
Result
27–13
Competition
2024 end-of-year rugby union internationals
32
32
No.
32
Date
9 February 2025
Venue
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Opponent
Ireland
Score
5-17
Result
18–32
Competition
2025 Six Nations Championship
Ranked list
No.
Date
Venue
Opponent
Score
Result
Competition
1
23 October 2020
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Georgia
39–7
48–7
2020 end-of-year rugby union internationals
2
14 November 2020
Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy
Italy
5–6
28–17
Autumn Nations Cup
3
5 December 2020
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
14–18
16–31
Autumn Nations Cup
4
6 February 2021
Twickenham Stadium, London, England
England
8–3
11–6
2021 Six Nations Championship
5
20 March 2021
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Italy
10–7
52–10
2021 Six Nations Championship
6
50–10
7
26 March 2021
Stade de France, Paris, France
France
5–3
27–23
2021 Six Nations Championship
8
25–23
9
26 June 2021
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Japan
12–0
28–10
2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa
10
20 November 2021
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Japan
5–0
29–20
2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals
11
26 February 2022
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
France
15–36
17–36
2022 Six Nations Championship
12
16 July 2022
Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina
