Van der Merwe lasts 18 minutes on comeback as Edinburgh stay perfect in URC

Duhan van der Merwe’s injury troubles resurfaced at the worst possible moment on Friday, as the Scotland wing lasted only 18 minutes of his comeback appearance for Edinburgh before being forced off during a 31-10 URC victory over the Lions at Hive Stadium. The setback arrives days before Scotland name their squad for next month’s Nations Championship Tests against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

The 31-year-old had been passed fit on Thursday, with Edinburgh declaring him “fully fit and ready to go” after a recurring ankle problem that has disrupted the past 18 months of his career. He showed early promise in driving rain — evading four tacklers on one cross-field run — before pulling up in the 18th minute and signalling to the bench that he could not continue. Van der Merwe made his way disconsolately to the dressing room for assessment, and his prospects of featuring in Monday’s squad announcement now appear remote.

Edinburgh, however, barely missed a beat. Within two minutes of losing their winger, they moved ahead through a slick move that saw Matt Currie release Hector Patterson down the left, with Currie finishing after taking the scrum-half’s return pass. Patterson proved the catalyst for everything that followed, delivering a one-handed pass off the floor to send Mosese Tuipulotu crashing through for the second try.

The 21-year-old Patterson then helped himself to two tries of his own to announce himself as a serious contender for a Scotland call-up. His first, in the 50th minute, completed a sweeping team move initiated by full-back Piers O’Conor and continued by Geordie Gwynn and replacement Harry Paterson. His second was entirely self-made — a quick tap penalty 25 metres out, a sprint past RF Schoeman and a sharp change of direction that left the entire Lions defence grasping at air as he touched down in the right corner.

Patterson was named player of the match, capping a week in which he also signed a new contract with Edinburgh through to the end of the 2026-27 season. A Scotland debut could come as early as Monday’s announcement.

Gwynn added a fifth try in the left corner to complete the scoring and seal Edinburgh’s fourth bonus-point win from four URC outings, leaving them as the early pacesetters in the competition. The result was a commanding statement of intent — tempered only by the lingering concern over Van der Merwe’s fitness.