Van der Merwe wants to stack up games and trophies with Munster
Marnus van der Merwe during Munster squad training at UL in Limerick. Pic: Dan Clohessy/Inpho
One thing we can say with some certainty after a first chat with Marnus van der Merwe in Limerick this week is that the guy is absolutely dedicated to the idea of success with Munster. As a player and as a team.
It’s been a year since the release of Conor Murray’s autobiography ‘Cloud Nine’ in which Murray criticised the province’s record when it come to signings. The former scrum-half was scathing in his assessment, labelling too many “duds”.
“Munster’s recruitment policy hasn’t been near good enough in my time,” he wrote. “I don’t know if they tried to recruit on the cheap, but I do know that to win the Champions Cup you need a cohort of world-class players and I don’t think we had enough of them.”
Van der Merwe isn’t a high-profile signing. Munster aren’t in that market right now.
A 29-year old hooker with a handful of caps for the Springboks, he was named on the URC team of the year two seasons ago. He looks like a good, capable acquisition for Clayton McMillan, and all the signals are that he has landed with purpose.
McMillan signposted that when he explained how the South African and new tighthead Kieran Brookes arrived over the summer with existing injuries and proceeded to spend the entire off-season rehabbing at the high-performance centre in Limerick.
“They didn’t really take a break,” said the head coach.
A former shot putter and discus thrower who is the only rugby player in the family, van der Merwe passed more of the off-season by doing some coaching with the Munster women’s team. It’s a route he is eager to continue when the boots get put away.
All of that makes for a promising start. A quietly-spoken type who is a very different proposition on the field of play, he gives all the impression of a man eager to make his mark in the only place it really counts having made the switch from Scarlets.
He’s not here for the scenery. Limerick reminds him of Bloemfontein - “very nice, not much to do” – but he isn’t one for spending time in town anyway. He has a nice house here, a big yard, and a few coffee spots have been found. It’s all rugby after that.
It’s a focus that has already come with some sacrifice given his wife Anika and four-month old daughter Ine are, for the moment, back home in South Africa awaiting on visas that have been accepted but not yet processed.
“Yeah, it's tough. But at least we spoke beforehand and we said it's going to be tough to move and stuff, especially with the baby, because she had to get a passport and visa and all that. But we are both buying in.
“Otherwise, it wouldn't have worked, just me buying in, or just her. So we both buy in and make sure that everything goes well. It's getting tough. But at least technology makes it easier. You can video call and stuff like that.”
Van der Merwe does have a brother-in-law working in Dublin and who recently gained his Irish citizenship. He spoke to RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn about the move and about Munster. So there is some insight into the club, the culture and the country.
And his reasons for leaving Wales for Munster are revealing.
“I think [because of] the history and to compete. They're always in the top eight and they won the 2023 URC, so making sure that I can actually... I want to win trophies but the drivers, the players, you can see it on TV and you can see them.
“When I talked to Donk [Clayton McMillan] and them, the way they spoke made me interested in actually coming here. I think they have the same drivers that I have, so that's the main thing.”
There is a clarity in his thinking when he talks about what he can bring to his new employers. With Brookes and Jack Aungier other front row newbies, there is a priority on finding connections at the setpiece. He brings a physicality and a breakdown threat too.
“I don't think we'll be great in the start,” he said, “but we'll definitely be great at the end.”
He is, lets not forget, a Springbok. Rassie Eramus gave van der Merwe his debut last year. It happened later than most, at the age of 28, but quicker than he thought on the back of just one, expectational, season in West Wales.
And, while it was frustrating to sit out the ‘Greatest Rivalry series’ with the All Blacks this summer, there was some small consolation in being name-checked by Erasmus in the midst of it all. Absent, but not forgotten.
Playing URC games against South African sides and players can’t hurt those ambitions going forward, but the focus here and now is unmistakeably on getting fit and stacking up games rather than a possible World Cup spot that, he admits, would be very special.
“I don't think there's any words to explain that. Yeah, it would mean the world to me, especially for my family as well. That was the plan about four years ago to make this World Cup. So yeah, nothing changed. I had a little bit of a setback, but nothing changed.”
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