Edwill van der Merwe patient but ready to shine for Springboks

Springbok winger Edwill van der Merwe is keen to perform at his best at this year’s Autumn Nations Series.

The Springboks recently kicked off their European tour with victories over Japan and France, and are now firmly focused on Italy.

Coach Rassie Erasmus has often been praised for their ability to grow depth and give players equal opportunity. This week, there is a big expectation that he will make big changes to the team for the Italy test.

After Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-lee Arendse and Ethan Hooker played wing in the last two weeks, it is expected that Edwill van der Merwe will get an opportunity to shine again.

Edwill patient with the process

The 29-year-old has made quite an impression since entering the international scene. In just four appearances, he went on to score 5 tries.

Earlier this year, he made his presence felt when he scored a brace against the very team he could be facing this weekend.

With coach Rassie set to announce his team on Thursday, Edwill van der Merwe says he trusts the process but will be prepared when the opportunity comes.

“The biggest thing for me is to stay prepared,” he said.

“Stay ready whenever the call comes and when I get the opportunity to play, to grab it with both hands.”

Van der Merwe aware of the Italian threat

If selected to play this weekend, he will have the luxury of banking on the experience gained from playing Italy earlier this year.

Despite the previous victory, he remains wary of the threat Italy brings. He hinted Gonzalo Quesada and the Italian team cannot be underestimated. They performed extremely well against Australia over the weekend.

“They put a lot of emphasis on slowing the ball down or going to steal the ball. Whatever they throw at us, we will have to match it.”