Van der Merwe backs Scotland to let ‘X factor’ shine

Duhan van der Merwe is optimistic about Scotland’s Rugby World Cup chances (Jane Barlow/PA)

Duhan van der Merwe admits he could never have envisaged a rise to prominence that means he is going to his first Rugby World Cup as a talismanic figure within a Scotland backline loaded with “X factor”.

The 28-year-old South-Africa-born wing was relatively unheralded when he first joined Edinburgh in 2017 following an underwhelming year in France with Montpellier.