Stephan van der Merwe – Paul Roos Gimnasium captain

Player Profile

Paul Roos are the No.1 ranked team in the country and captaining them is a real honour. Stephan van der Merwe has that honour.

Stephan van der Merwe was born in De Aar on 19 February 1988. He attended primary school in De Aar before moving to Paul Roos in Grade 8 (Std 6). His parents still farm near Britstown in the Karroo. Having played rugby for the Griquas Under-13 Craven Week team the move south was motivated mainly by his wish to play sport at a higher level.

Paul Roos is a government school of 1 120 boys and Stephan has excelled in every aspect of school life. Apart from captaining the 1st XV he is vice-headboy of the school and is headboy of the hostel. A solid academic he intends moving down the road to Stellenbosch University next year to study accounting.

Stephan is playing in his second year in the 1st XV and represented the Western Province Craven Week team this year. A good counter-attacker who is solid under the high ball and in defence, Stephan’s main strength is his ability to join the line. Working extremely well in combination with outside centre Stephan Dippenaar he wreaks havoc with his regular incursions into the backline and creates loads of space for his speedy wings. Stephan’s rugby hero is the slippery Australian Chris Latham. Stephan likes the fact that like him Latham is solid if not flash. They both have good skills and a keen eye for the gap but most importantly Stephan likes the fact that Latham does things his own way and is somewhat unorthodox in his approach.

Paul Roos have a very well balanced team and have lost only one game so far this season. Their backline is their undoubted strength but no backline can function without the ball and Stephan was lavish in praise of his forwards. They work extremely hard, under the proverbial blanket, to give the backs good ball and Stephan was especially happy that they knew their place and didn't get in the way of his backs.

Paul Roos have two games left but this Saturday is the big one, a FNB Classic Clash in Bloemfontein against traditional rivals Grey College. This is the highlight of the season for the boys from Paul Roos as they travel north by train for a weekend of rugby and revelry. When we spoke to Stephan early in the week he already sounded excited and was looking forward to all the hype and build-up. Grey may have lost to Glenwood last week but at home on derby day they will be a difficult prospect. Stephan van der Merwe knows that if Paul Roos are to maintain their No.1 ranking until the end of the season this is one they have to win.

For more information about Paul Roos, click here.
For a profile of the Paul Roos 1st XV, click here.