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DTH van der Merwe has retired from test match rugby with immediate effect. After earning 61 caps over a period of thirteen years the 33-year-old made the announcement today on social media that he has concluded his test match career playing for Canada.
Commonly known as DTH, Daniel Tailliferre Hauman van der Merwe was born in Worcester, South Africa. He moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada where he attended high school and played rugby beginning in 2003.
Fast-forward 16 years and van der Merwe retired from international duty as Canada’s all-time leading try scorer. His 38 tries are 14 more than the second placed Winston Stanley who retired after RWC 2003. Stanley hung up his boots with 66 caps to his name and three Rugby World Cups.
van der Merwe ‘s 68 caps include four RWC tournaments. He would be the sucessor to Stanley and also go on to have a tremendous career as a professional in Europe. van der Merwe played in England for Saracens and Newcastle as well as in Wales for the Scarlets yet it was Scottish side the Glasgow Warriors where he made his strongest contribution.
For Glasgow, van der Merwe would set the record for tries scored and would win the Pro 14 title in 2015. Two seasons later he would win it again but this time with the Scarlets.
While on international duty, van der Merwe made history. Not only has he scored more tries than all other Canadian players but he also set a record at RWC 2015. At the tournament in England and Wales he scored tries in every pool match, something no other player has achieved in RWC history.
Canada took four wingers to Japan for RWC 2019. Joining van der Merwe were Jeff Hassler, Taylor Paris, and Andrew Coe. Kainoa Lloyd flew in as an injury replacement. With van der Merwe’s test career over the focus will now go on to these players. It is over to them and other hopefuls to continue the tradition of a world class finisher on the Canadian wings.
