Edinburgh respond to Duhan van der Merwe exit revelations

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt admits the club are “desperate” to keep Duhan van der Merwe after RugbyPass revealed La Rochelle are among several French clubs keen on recruiting the Scotland wing.

Van der Merwe, 29, returned to the Scottish capital two years ago after the demise of former club Worcester Warriors and signed a contract extension in late 2023.

But that deal expires at the end of this season and Edinburgh and Scottish Rugby will need to come up with an enticing package if they are to ward off interest from the Top 14, with Montpellier, Bayonne and Lyon also believed to be interested in the 6ft 4in flier.

“I was joking with him today because we obviously read the same article,” said Everitt after Edinburgh earned their first URC win of the season against the Stormers. “We want to keep Duhan in Scotland if we can. He's got a business here in Scotland.

“We desperately do want to keep him here, so we'll do the best we can. We're in the process of contracting for season 2025-2026 at the moment. We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it.”

Van der Merwe, now Scotland’s record try-scorer with 28 in 41 Tests, was a largely peripheral figure in Edinburgh’s 38-7 victory on Saturday, with only four carries and a single line break.

But he did cover across well to reach a Warwick Gelant grubber to the corner amid an intense period of Stormers pressure in the second quarter, with the hosts relieved to only concede one try as the visitors camped on their line.

After shipping eight – including seven in the first half - to the Lions a week ago in Johannesburg, Everitt was full of praise for his side’s response to that 55-21 thumping.

“Defence displays your character and also defines your character and the guys certainly put their bodies on the line to keep that team out,” said Everitt. “At the back end of the first half it was sublime. I'm just proud of the boys that they got the result and they got the reward for all their hard work and perseverance during the week.

“This team has never lacked character under my leadership. I'm just glad that they were able to put in the performance and get the result that they did against a quality Stormers outfit.

“It’s been a difficult week for everyone. It was always going to be a tricky start to this competition. But it just shows what this team can do with good game management and good leadership. The leaders took responsibility for having gone a little bit off-strategy last week. This week we get it right and hopefully we can build on it.”

Everitt was effusive in his praise of back-rower Ben Muncaster, who scored two tries in a player-of-the-match display on his first start at openside and hooker Patrick Harrison, Edinburgh’s leading carrier with 17 who also made 11 tackles on only his third start for the club.

“Paddy was outstanding as well as Ben,” he said. “He put in another outstanding performance tonight, not only defensively but carrying the ball as well. And he got through a tremendous amount of work. So those two youngsters certainly brought energy to the team.”

Everitt also praised fly-half Ross Thompson, who took over from the dropped Ben Healy and landed five out of six at goal as well as producing a variety of probing kicks from hand amid a composed display.

“Ross was calm and understood what we wanted from him from a game management point of view,” he said. “Not only on attack was he good in game management, his defence was outstanding as well.

“They attacked his channel and he held his own there. He’s disappointed about the second-last goal-kick, but overall he kicked well. It was a fantastic all-round performance from a guy that takes his rugby seriously and wants to play at the highest level.”

After a difficult first few games back on his return from injury following eight months on the sidelines, there was also a first try of the season for Scotland winger Darcy Graham.

“It was great for him,” Everitt added. “Him and Duhan have been talking about it and they've been looking for work. It's really hard to get the ball to the edges against the blitz defence that the Stormers have. With the opportunities that he got, he did well.

“When he didn't have the ball, he was looking for the ball. For me, it's just an all-round performance and I thought the forwards laid the platform in the second half for us to go away with it.”