Phillip Rudolph van der Merwe (born 3 June 1985 in

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" ...

) is a South African

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 ...

rugby player who plays in the lock position for French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

side .

Career

Free State Cheetahs / Cheetahs

Van der Merwe attended Grey College in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

before joining the Bloemfontein-based provincial side the . He made his first class debut for them in the 2006 Vodacom Cup – eventually starting eleven matches and playing off the bench on two occasions – and also made 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 in the second half of

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, three times appearing as a replacement during the competition. In 2007, he got his first taste of

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 ...

, starting two matches for the during the

2007 Super 14 season The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at ABSA Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. The ...

. He made five appearances in the

2007 Vodacom Cup The 2007 Vodacom Cup was the 10th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby unio ...

, but his only Currie Cup involvement in 2007 came in one match on loan at the . He made three appearances for the Cheetahs during the

2008 Super 14 season The 2008 Super 14 season started in February 2008 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 31 May, when the Crusaders won their seventh Super Rugby title with a 20–12 victory over the Waratahs in front of the Crusaders' ...

and also scored his first try in Super Rugby. He played a bigger part in their Currie Cup campaign in 2008, making seven appearances.

Blue Bulls / Bulls

In 2009, Van der Merwe moved to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

to join the . He immediately established himself as a first-choice player for them, making eleven starts and two substitute appearances in the

2009 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2009 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division season was the 71st season in the competition since it started in 1889. The competition was contested from 10 July through to 31 October. It was won by the Blue Bulls, who defeated the Free State Cheetahs ...

. He also featured for the in the

2010 Super 14 season The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, fea ...

before being called up to the South African national team for the first time. He became an important part of the Bulls side over the next few years, making 75 appearances for the side in

competitions between 2010 and 2015. He also featured in 39 first class matches for the Blue Bulls between 2009 and 2012, with national team call-ups and injury preventing him from playing for them in 2013 and 2014.

Clermont

Shortly before the

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 ...

, the announced that Van der Merwe would leave after the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division to take up a contract with French

side . He was later given an early release from his contract and made the move to Clermont during the Currie Cup campaign.

Representative rugby

On 12 June 2010, he played his first test for the South African national team, the Springboks, against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He missed out on selection to the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, but established himself as a regular for the team over the next few years, appearing in 36 test matches prior to his move to Clermont in 2015.

Personal

His father Flippie was also a rugby player, making six appearances for South Africa between 1981 and 1989.

References

External links

*
Flip van der Merwe
at Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame
Flip van der Merwe
at thebulls.co.za

at skysports.com

at itsrugby.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Der Merwe, Flip 1985 births Living people Afrikaner people Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Blue Bulls players Bulls (rugby union) players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Free State Cheetahs players Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Potchefstroom South Africa international rugby union players South African expatriate rugby union players South African people of Dutch descent South African rugby union players