mens
United-rugby-championship
New Munster signing Marnus van der Merwe is ready to hit the ground running before kick-off United Rugby Championship season after proving his fitness in internal training.
Hooker Van der Merwe, who won the third of his three Springbok caps in a record 43-10 win against New Zealand in Wellington in November last year, arrived Ireland with a calf injury, which he picked up towards the end of his second season in West Wales.
But he is now back to full fitness and ready to take his place in the front row in Munster’s final warm-up ahead of URC’s season opener against Glasgow Warriors at Thomond Park on Saturday, kick-off 5.30pm.
Munster A will also be in action this weekend and face off Connacht The Eagles in the Thomond Park backcourt on Friday at 1pm.
Alex Nankivell is also back in the mix for selection after being included in last week’s game at Crescent College Comprehensive, having missed the pre-season game against La Rochelle with a knock.
However, fly-half JJ Hanrahan (concussion) and scrumhalf Max Clein (neck) are unavailable.
Van der Merwe’s recovery is not only good news for Munster but also for South Africa, as they were forced to turn to Deon Fourie as back-up to Malcolm Marx just after his 40th birthday in the recent series against New Zealand.
Fourie overtook Victor Matfield’s record to become the oldest Springboks international when he took the field against All black people in the second Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series in Cape Town.
The Stormers the veteran proved he is more than a stopgap solution, however, with performances that belied his advancing years and will have van der Merwe fighting hard to reclaim second place for the whores behind World Rugby Player of the Year Marx.
Fourie has not given up hope of playing in next year’s Rugby World Cup. He said: “There is still a long way to go and a lot of games to play before then. If the body holds up and I can still play at the top level, why not?”
