Scarlets hooker Marnus van der Merwe crowned a memorable Springboks Test debut with a try double as South Africa beat Georgia 55-10 in Nelspruit on Saturday.
The Scarlets’ Supporters Player of the Season became the 261st player to represent the club on the Test stage, crossing for a first-half brace at the back of the Boks’ powerful line-out drive.
Afterwards, Marnus told the South African media: “It is something as a kid you dream of. I don’t think it has sunk in properly, maybe tomorrow morning I will get up and tell my wife, ‘I am actually a Bok’.”
In the final day of the World U20s Championships, Elis Price, Harry Thomas and Jac Pritchard featured for Wales in their 31-21 defeat to Italy, which saw Richard Whiffin’s side finish the tournament in eighth position. South Africa beat New Zealand in the final to lift the trophy for the first time in 13 years.
Wales U20s women lost late on to Italy 28-24 in their final match of the Summer Series at Ystrad Mynach. Brython Thunder centre Savannah Picton-Powell crossed for her third try in two matches, while Thunder team-mate Seren Singleton was also on the scoresheet. The Italians struck late on to deliver a heartbreaking finale for the Welsh girls.
In Brisbane, there may not have been any Welshmen in the British & Irish Lions side taking on the Wallabies in the opening match of the three-Test series, but ex-Scarlet Tadhg Beirne delivered a player-of-the-match display in the 27-19 victory.
The tour moves to Melbourne this week with the Lions taking on a First Nations & Pasifika XV on Tuesday before the second Test showdown at a packed MCG.
Photo: Marnus van der Merwe IG