Duhan van der Merwe is closing in on the men's record
Wing Duhan van der Merwe has the potential to break the Scotland men’s try-scoring record in the 2024 Six Nations campaign.
Van der Merwe, who has 35 caps, added two more to his tally against Wales in round one to take his overall amount to 23. He is now only four tries away from equalling the top men’s scorer in Stuart Hogg. Van der Merwe is closing in on the record at a much quicker rate though as Hogg had 100 caps before announcing his retirement in 2023.
One of the best tries the 28-year-old has ever scored was against England in the 2023 Six Nations. He ran 55 metres and beat several defenders to silence Twickenham. Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend praised his winger post-match: “It was incredible, wasn’t it? It reminded me of when, for everybody of a certain age, you played Jonah Lomu Rugby and suddenly one person can go quicker.
“I almost saw a different side to Duhan there as he stepped and then accelerated away. His finish for the last try was similar to two years ago (an 11-6 victory) when he finished in the opposite corner.
“It was a brilliant finish but that first try was amazing, and one that gets the Scotland supporters going crazy in the stand and silences everyone else because you don’t see tries like that very often.”
There are four more Scotland matches in the Six Nations and anyone would be a fool to bet against Van der Merwe equalling, if not beating, the record.
Wing Darcy Graham has one more try than Van der Merwe but is currently injured.
But who else is on the Scotland top try-scorer list, in the men’s game? Here are the top five:
Scotland top try-scorer list
- Stuart Hogg – 27
- Ian Smith, Tony Stanger and Darcy Graham- 24
- Duhan van der Merwe – 23
- Chris Patterson – 22
- Tommy Seymour – 20
Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.