Duhan van der Merwe explains his Edinburgh contract decision and the need to end trophy drought

The news that all Edinburgh Rugby and many Scotland fans wanted is now official. Star winger Duhan van der Merwe is staying in the capital until the 2027 World Cup.

Popular winger Van der Merwe, who is Scotland's record try-scorer with 30 scores, was out of contract at the end of the current campaign, but has now agreed terms on a new deal. The 31-year-old spoke with a handful of journalists to explain why he turned down moves abroad to remain with Edinburgh.

Q: Duhan, why did you decide to stay at Edinburgh for another couple of years or so?

DVM: "It's been my home for seven, eight years. The club really looks after me. My wife's happy. I believe in this group, I believe in Sean as a coach. I believe I've got more to give. But the main thing is - as long as I'm happy and my wife is happy then I believe I'll be at my best. I'm truly happy to call Scotland home for another two and a half years.

Duhan van der Merwe has signed a new contract with Edinburgh Rugby until 2027. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Q: You went to Worcester for a while last time when leaving Edinburgh. I guess there were other places you could go this time too - England, France and so on?

DVM: "Yeah, look, I'm not going to stand here and say it was an easy decision. There was a lot on my mind. But again, I had to think really hard and long about it. Sitting down with my wife, I decided just to stay at Edinburgh, a club that's given me so much. I've still got so much to give too. I'm really happy with my signing and staying at Edinburgh.

Q: Your new deal takes you up to the next World Cup in 2027 - that must be a huge motivation for you?

DVM: "Yeah, so I've decided to sign a contract that takes me till the World Cup. That's in October, November. I've still got a lot to give for the club and the country. There's some motivation behind that, knowing that I've still got two and a half years left. I'm really going to try and push my body for the next World Cup - if selected and still good enough by then. So, yeah, we'll see.

Q: What is it about this place that makes it so special for you?

DVM: "Just everyone that's accepted me. It's been a long time. Like I've said, I came here as a young boy and I've grown into a man in Scotland. Like I said, the club's given me much. Me and Pierre Schoeman started our own business a couple of months ago. So, for me, it's giving back to the fans and the country that's given me so much. I'm really happy to be extending my stay for a couple of years.

Duhan Van Der Merwe breaks forwards during Edinburgh's win over Benetton at Hive Stadium on November 30. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Q: Do you feel you've got unfinished business at Edinburgh in terms of winning silverware?

DVM: "I was actually thinking about it earlier. I joined the club in 2017. It's been a long time. I haven't really won anything, which is obviously a shit one to take, to be honest, because I believe this squad can start winning stuff. I know it's been a thing, everyone's been saying that over the last year or so. I guess people from the outside stopped believing in us. So, it's up to this group and this group alone to change that and start winning stuff. So, it's a really important month for the club. We need to start winning games if we want to get into the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup and if we want to push up the league and the ladder in the URC, we'll have to start winning games there as well. So, we've got three big games coming up.

Q: How much growth do you think you've still got as a player?

DVM: "Still a lot. If I compare myself to, say, other back three players, I would say a lot of them are a lot more skilful than me. So, I do believe I've still got a lot to give. So, yeah, I'll just keep on working hard in my game and hopefully get better in every department.

Q: You're obviously already Scotland's top-try scorer and you've got that thing going on with Darcy Graham. How much of a motivation are things like that when you come to consider your future and think, well, I could set a record?

DVM: "Yeah, it's funny enough. It's obviously very special breaking the record, but I don't go into games thinking that I want to score more than Darcy or my only thing is to score. These bits come, I believe, when you work hard and you care. So, for me, the biggest thing is just working hard, putting on that jersey and just giving it my all and hopefully with the players that are inside of me, they know me as a player, they'll give me that opportunity and hopefully I can finish it off.

Duhan van der Merwe scores Scotland's second try during the Autumn Nations Series win over Australia at Murrayfield last month. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

Q: Tell us a little bit about your whisky business you've set up with Pierre Schoeman?

"So, me and Schoey have been thinking for the last two, three years to start our own business and we've had some weird ideas that I won't say, and then we came up with starting our own whisky. It's been brilliant going out and about. In the first month, we've done personal delivery, so if new restaurants and bars buy our whisky, we go and deliver that ourselves. So, I've been a busy man in the off days. In the beginning, I didn't really drink much whisky, but now, obviously, with new clients and stuff, I can't sell the whisky and not drink it with them! It's called Hirundine. It's a swallow that migrates from Scotland to South Africa. Again, with our story, our bottling company is called Against the Grain. Again, us being born in South Africa, coming to Scotland against the grain, it was never going to be easy. So, I think the whole story and everything is brilliant and we love it. Like I say, we feel like we're giving back and just connecting with fans and people outside of rugby just is brilliant.

DVM: "Vanilla, honey, and there's one more. I'll get on that one. That's the two main ones. Very easy drinking. Trust me. You'll love it."