Scotland make Duhan van der Merwe decision as trio released back to Edinburgh for Leinster clash
Record-setting winger given final chance to prove fitness and form
Duhan van der Merwe will start for Edinburgh in their United Rugby Championship match at Leinster on Saturday after being released from the Scotland Six Nations training camp.
The winger, who is Scotland's all-time record try scorer with 35, one ahead of Darcy Graham, has been made available for the trip to Dublin along with fellow Edinburgh call-ups Freddy Douglas and Magnus Bradbury.
The match will provide the 30-year-old with a final opportunity to prove his form and fitness ahead of Scotland's Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome next weekend.
Van der Merwe has faced recurring injury disruptions throughout 2025 and into 2026, impacting his availability and form for both club and country. He was dropped from a Scotland matchday squad for the first time during the autumn series and has scored only one try for Edinburgh in the URC this season.
A strong performance against Leinster may be required to force his way into the plans of Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, who has retained three wingers - Edinburgh team-mate Graham and Glasgow duo Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie - for his training squad over the weekend.
Edinburgh have made a total of six changes to their starting XV from the side that lost to Bulls at Hive Stadium last weekend.
Winger Malelili Satala starts in place of Graham while the tight-five sees a reshuffle.
Props Boan Venter and Paul Hill, academy hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, and lock Callum Hunter-Hill all get the nod, with Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’arcy Rae and Grant Gilchrist also retained by Scotland.
In the back-row, Ben Muncaster replaces the injured Liam McConnell, who is set for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a rib injury against Bulls.
Edinburgh are in desperate need of a positive result at Aviva Stadium after winning just three of their nine URC fixtures to date, leaving them 12th in the table, three points adrift of the top eight.
Head coach Sean Everitt said: “Going away to Leinster is one of the toughest tests in the URC, but it’s a challenge we’re ready to embrace – we’re going over there to have a real crack at it.
“Magnus [Bradbury] resumes the captaincy and his experience in these big away fixtures is invaluable for the group.
“We know exactly what we are capable of when we put it all together. The key for us this week is consistency; we need a complete 80-minute performance to get the result we want.”
Harry Paterson continues at full-back, anchoring the back three alongside Van der Merwe and Satala.
In the midfield, Wes Goosen is once again deployed at outside-centre, renewing his partnership with James Lang. The half-back duo of Ross Thompson and Ben Vellacott remains unchanged.
Venter, Blyth-Lafferty and Hill form an all-new front-frow as Glen Young continues at lock alongside Hunter-Hill. Scotland back-row trio Muncaster, Douglas and Bradbury complete the pack.
All Black Reiko Ioane returns to start in a much-changed Leinster side. Head coach Leo Cullen is without a host of Ireland internationals and makes 12 changes in total to the side that beat Connacht last weekend, a result that moved them up to third in the URC table.
Edinburgh team to face Leinster at Aviva Stadium, kick-off 5.30pm – live on Premier Sports
15. Harry Paterson, 14. Malelili Satala, 13. Wes Goosen, 12. James Lang 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Ross Thompson, 9. Ben Vellacott; 1. Boan Venter, 2. Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 3. Paul Hill, 4. Callum Hunter-Hill, 5. Glen Young, 6. Ben Muncaster, 7. Freddy Douglas, 8. Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: 16. Harri Morris, 17. Mikey Jones, 18. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 19. Tom Dodd, 20. Connor Boyle, 21. Charlie Shiel, 22. Cammy Scott, 23. Piers O’Conor.
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