Armand H P 'Akker' van der Merwe (born 17 June 1991) is a South African professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for English Premiership side . His regular position is hooker.

Career

Youth

Although born in

Vanderbijlpark Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist. Vand ...

, Van der Merwe grew up in

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, where he played rugby for Outeniqua High School to win inclusion in the Under-16 side for the 2007 Grant Khomo Week and their Under-18 side for the 2008 Academy Week and 2009

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The tou ...

competitions. In 2010, he moved to

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

where he represented the and university side . He was a regular for the side during the

2010 Under-19 Provincial Championship 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

competition, making thirteen appearances and in 2012, he made twelve appearances for the side in the

2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2012 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 13 July to 27 October 2012. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Division A There are seven p ...

, scoring six tries. He played

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...

rugby for the in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He made eight appearances and scored three tries in the 2014 competition, helping his side to the final, where they lost 39–33 to the , with Van der Merwe scoring a try early in the second half.

Leopards

His senior debut came in 2013, when he was included in the senior side for the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First ...

competition. He made his debut against the in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, coming on as an early substitute. He also marked the occasion by scoring a try in injury time at the end of the match. Two more starts and three more substitute appearances (and one more try) followed during that competition. His

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

debut came in July 2013. He came on as a substitute on the hour mark at

Olën Park Olën Park, also known as Profert Olën Park for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Potchefstroom, South Africa. It was used for rugby union matches by the Leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in ...

in their

2013 Currie Cup First Division The 2013 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 29 June to 11 October 2013. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competiti ...

match against the eventual champions, the . While mainly being used as a substitute during the campaign (playing off the bench on eight occasions), he did one start in the competition against the . He made a further two appearances for the Leopards during the 2014 Currie Cup qualification tournament.

Lions

In April 2014, Van der Merwe was a surprise inclusion in the touring squad for their Australian leg of the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. He made his

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

debut against the in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and scored his first try for the Lions in their next match against the in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. After one more match that he played off the bench (against the in Sydney), he made his first Super Rugby start in their final tour match against the in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. On 4 April 2015, he scored a last-minute winning in their

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

match against the to help the Lions win the match 22–18 against their trans-

Jukskei Jukskei is a 270-year-old folk sport ( af, Boeresport) developed and played in South Africa. History Jukskei is believed to have originated around 1743 in the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, developed by "transport riders" who traveled with ox ...

rivals.

Golden Lions

His performances for the in

also led to a domestic move, with Van der Merwe joining the on a deal for the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

competition.

Racing 92

He joined on a short-term deal for the start of their 2015–16 Top 14 season.

Personal

He is the older brother of Scotland international and British and Scotland winger

Duhan van der Merwe Duhan van der Merwe (born ) is a South African-born Scottish rugby union player who currently plays for Edinburgh Rugby in the United Rugby Championship. Schoolboy rugby Van der Merwe was born and grew up in George in the Western Cape province ...

, who also played

rugby for and was included in the South African Schools sides in 2012 and 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van der Merwe, Akker South African rugby union players Living people 1991 births People from Vanderbijlpark Leopards (rugby union) players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Rugby union hookers Barbarian F.C. players South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union players from Gauteng