Duhan van der Merwe breaks try-scoring record as Scotland end season with nervy victory over Uruguay
Record try-scorer Duhan van der Merwe in action for Scotland in 2024.
Duhan van der Merwe became Scotland men’s record try-scorer after he touched down in their tight 31-19 victory over Uruguay.
The 29-year-old scored Scotland’s third try after 26 minutes on Saturday, which was the 28th time he has crossed the whitewash at Test level.
Van der Merwe duly surpassed the tally of Stuart Hogg, who went over on 27 occasions for Scotland between 2012 and 2023.
When the powerhouse scored, the visitors were 19-0 in front with Ewan Ashman and Luke Crosbie also touching down, but they then suffered a fright.
A spirited Uruguay outfit levelled matters with a quarter of the match to go thanks to tries from Santiago Alvarez, Felipe Etcheverry and Manuel Diana.
Los Teros sensed that an upset was on the cards but Patrick Harrison and Pierre Schoeman re-established Scotland’s dominance and secured the victory for Gregor Townsend’s men.
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There was a late change to Townsend’s team with Scott Cummings dropping out with a foot injury. Gregor Brown came in and Ewan Johnson was promoted into the 23-man squad, which was entirely composed of Glasgow and Edinburgh players given the game fell outside the international calendar.
Uruguay had the early pressure and their forwards drove within metres of the try line before failing to make the most of two penalties, one which they kicked to the corner and another which Etcheverry kicked wide of the posts. It would not be the last time Scotland were grateful for the Uruguayan fly-half’s wayward kicking.
The momentum shifted with an incredible kick from Ben Healy, who found touch near Uruguay’s 22-metre line from deep within his own.
Scotland soon won a penalty and Ashman forced himself over for his fourth try of the tour in the 12th minute after the hooker followed up his own lineout to drive over at the back of a maul.
There was a scrappy spell of kicking before Matt Fagerson’s interception put Scotland on the front foot, and he ultimately fed Crosbie to cross for his first Scotland try after Diego Arbelo had been shown a yellow card for halting George Horne illegally after a kick-and-go penalty.
Van der Merwe was handed his memorable moment thanks to an unselfish pass from Kyle Rowe. At 29, the Edinburgh winger could go on to set a final tally that will be very difficult to surpass.
The historic moment was nearly followed by a turnaround that would have been talked about for years.
Scrum-half Alvarez got Uruguay off the mark after intercepting Healy’s pass in front of the posts. Etcheverry then went over from close range before taking his tally to nine points.
The fly-half somehow hit the post with a straightforward kick early in the second half after Brown was penalised for a high tackle but his deft kick forward led to the maul which saw Diana go over just after the hour mark.
Etcheverry was well wide with the conversion attempt that could have put the hosts ahead and the introduction of Adam Hastings and Jamie Dobie in the half-back positions brought some urgency to the visitors.
Harrison went over from a maul and Schoeman crossed inside four minutes before another substitute, Kyle Steyn, saw a late try disallowed.
The teams
Uruguay: 15 Ignacio Álvarez, 14 Juan Bautista Hontou, 13 Juan Manuel Alonso, 12 Tomás Inciarte, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Álvarez, 8 Carlos Deus, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 1 Ignacio Peculo
Replacements: 16 Joaquín Myszka, 17 Mateo Sanguinetti, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Manuel Diana, 22 Santiago Gini, 23 Joaquín Suárez
Scotland: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (c), 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Gregor Brown, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Kyle Steyn
Referee: Damian Schneider (UAR)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
