Edwill van der Merwe hopes he and his Lions teammates have put the franchise back on the Springbok radar after making their Test debuts this year.
Van der Merwe shone when he made his long-awaited debut for the Springboks in the season-opening clash with Wales at Twickenham, scoring a spectacular try in his first run in the green and gold.
The winger was joined by then-Lions teammate Jordan Hendrikse – who has since joined the Sharks – in the starting lineup in London, and has since seen Quan Horn, Ruan Venter and Morne van den Berg make their debuts against Portugal in Bloemfontein.
It has been a dry spell for the Lions since the club’s golden era under Johan Ackermann saw Faf de Klerk, Julian Redelinghuys, Warren Whiteley, Elton Jantjies, Lionel Mapoe, Jaco Kriel and Ruan Combrinck rewarded with Bok debuts.
However, Van der Merwe feels his and his teammate’s achievements will inspire more Lions players to keep pushing to earn the green and gold jersey.
“I think probably the number one thing is it will probably inspire our teammates more to know that the Bok coaches are looking at the Lions,” he told reporters.
“I think for a long time there might have been a perception of that they’re not really looking at the Lions.
“So now from the Lions group there’s five guys who came through this season, which is quite special.
“I think there’s a big responsibility on us as players to take what we’ve learned at the Springboks back to the Lions and help the (other) guys also achieve their dream of playing for the Springboks, to uplift them and support them in achieving their dream.”
Photo: Paul Harding/Gallo Images
The post Edwill: Lions back in Bok spotlight appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
