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The South African arrived in the Province at the
start of the season and has thoroughly enjoyed
his time here thus far, but he believes the next
month is vital in ensuring that that continues.
“We’ve settled in nicely in Belfast. Everyone
is really friendly; from management, coaches
and players, inviting me for a coffee, dinner or
whatever the case may be. My wife has made
some great friends as well. We’re loving our
first year here and to have the opportunity to
challenge for silverware is making it even more
enjoyable. It’s been a pretty good year for the
team and it’s great being part of this Ulster
squad and in the starting team particularly.”
The Ulster men have won their last three
consecutive games, including a memorable
26-10 win over Leinster a fortnight ago. Those
victories have guaranteed Ulster’s place in the
play-offs, but home advantage in the last four
could be crucial and van der Merwe knows that
the most difficult part is still to come, starting
with this afternoon’s inter-pro clash.
“There are three, maybe four, massive games
lying ahead for Ulster. This is the reason you
work so hard in pre-season, do all the video
analysis - for big games like these when you
can measure yourself against the best. It’s not
about the semi-final or the final at this stage,
we’re 100% focused on taking each game at
a time. Although we have made the semis we
still have to push for home advantage with wins
over Munster and Glasgow.”
At points during the season, some questioned
whether Ulster would get to this position, as
injuries, suspensions and poor form disrupted
momentum on more than one occasion. But
the 32 year old suggests the team is peaking
at the right time: “We took a lot of confidence
from the win over Leinster, especially the last
five minutes when we defended magnificently.
There are maybe one or two players who are
missing at the moment so it’s great that the
coaches now have almost a full squad to select
from and that’s exactly where you want to be at
the end of the season.”
The well-documented injury list has led to
Franco playing slightly more than he might have
expected, missing just one fixture - January’s
away success at Treviso. Despite the attritional
nature of the modern game, in which players
are rotated regularly, he believes that playing
matches on a consistent basis helps his form.
“I am sort of used to playing every single
game from my time in South Africa. I don’t
mind playing every game but hats off to the
coaches and the management, especially
our conditioning coaches JD (Jonny Davis)
and Kevin (Geary) for the way they managed
me throughout the season, and particularly
during the period when we had ten consecutive
games.”
He continued: “The season is long and some
guys tend to forget the little details, stop doing
analysis of opposition, but it’s important for us
to stay motivated and ensure our work ethic
remains high. It’s important to keep the guys on
their toes and I like doing that,” he says with a
wry smile.
Van der Merwe insists there are reasons to be
positive off the pitch as well: “There is so much
good work happening across the organisation.
People look at what’s happening on the pitch
but there’s a lot of work happening in the
Academy with young guys coming through. I
must say I think I’m pretty lucky with my timing
in coming to Ulster. All the structures, the
support, and obviously the facilities are world
class. I know I’ve said that a few times but it’s
true. All those factors have made it a lot easier
for me to settle in.”
With one Springbok cap to his name, coming in
the 2013 Rugby Championship match against
New Zealand, van der Merwe has not given up
hope of adding more: “It will always be a great
privilege to represent my country and if I can
do that it will be great. But for me at the minute
it is about focusing on the way Ulster plays and
the way forward with Ulster. If the team does
well then the individual will stand out. I need to
focus on what my job is for Ulster and hopefully
the selectors will see something that they like.”
There’s no doubt that Ulster fans have seen
something they like from him already this
season with his incredible work rate and
consistency on the pitch, and his affable nature
off it. If he can help deliver the PRO12 trophy
come 30th May, his popularity will soar even
further.
6
ULSTER
RUGBY
www. ulster rugby.comFRANCO
VAN DER MERWE
FRANCO VAN DER MERWE:
SETTLING IN
Franco van der Merwe insists Ulster Rugby is on an upward curve
and is determined to play a central role in that progression.