Scotland confirms Van der Merwe fit for Six Nations opener

Scotland’s Six Nations campaign received a boost as record try-scorer Duhan van der Merwe has been cleared to play in Saturday’s tournament opener against Italy at Murrayfield.

The winger, who had been nursing an ankle injury, participated fully in training, easing concerns about his availability.

Van der Merwe missed Edinburgh’s Challenge Cup match against Black Lion on January 19, having sustained an ankle issue the previous weekend against Vannes. However, Scotland’s defence coach Steve Tandy provided a positive update, stating:

"Duhan’s been in training today, he’s been good, he’s done everything today."

Other injury concerns in the squad included Luke Crosbie, Grant Gilchrist, and Jonny Gray, but Tandy reassured that all three have trained and remain available for selection.

Scotland has already suffered notable injury setbacks, with key players Sione Tuipulotu, Scott Cummings, Dylan Richardson, and Josh Bayliss ruled out of the championship in recent weeks. Despite these losses, Tandy remained optimistic about the squad's depth.

With Tuipulotu and Cummings sidelined, Scotland will need to rely on leadership from within the squad. Tandy expressed confidence in the team’s collective experience, emphasizing the ability of other senior players to step up.

"With Sione and Scott and some of the bigger players who are still here, the leadership has been huge, but I think a lot of their leadership has rubbed off on others as well.

"The group has been together for a fair period of time now, so I think even though there’s one leader, it’s also shared."

Scotland will kick-start their 2025 Six Nations campaign with a clash against Italy at Murrayfield Stadium on 1st February.