Makazole Mapimpi says South Africa will be wary of the threats posed by Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe on Sunday.
The Edinburgh wing reclaimed Scotland’s all-time try record with a late score in the 57-17 win over Fiji last weekend having previously broken the record against Uruguay on the summer tour, before his club-mate Darcy Graham drew level with four tries against the Fijians.
Van der Merwe started his career at The Bulls before moving to Montpellier in France and then to Edinburgh. He qualified to play for Scotland in 2020 on residency grounds and has become a vital cog in Gregor Townsend’s side.
Mapimpi, who was part of the South Africa squad that won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, offered his assessment of the Scotland wing as the duo prepare to go head-to-head at Murrayfield this weekend.
“I think Duhan has been playing good rugby since he moved to this side of Europe and we've been watching him,” the 34-year-old South Africa wing said.
“I think I've been watching him for the longest time. I think he's a quite good player.”
Mapimpi was part of the Sharks side that beat Glasgow Warriors last month in URC action, and he hopes that has a positive impact on the Springboks this weekend as they look to extend their winning run over Scotland to nine matches.
"I think it is quite a good thing,” he said.
"I think it's [part] of the confidence that we actually needed to come back to the Springbok camp. I think it's quite amazing.”
On his most recent visit to Edinburgh, Mapimpi scored two tries as the visitors ran out 30-15 winners three years ago. He’s looking forward to aiming to repeat the feat this weekend.
Mapimpi is now a veteran of the Springboks set-up, having made his debut more than six years ago, but he hopes to remain part of the squad for as long as he can.
“I think body-wise, I'm still OK,” the winger, who scored the decisive try in the 2019 World Cup final, said.
“As long as I do talk to the coaches what I can do just to maintain my body.
“I’m [feeling] good just now, but I'm not sure if I'm able to make another World Cup.
“I'm not saying I won’t, but I don't think so.
“I'm just focusing now on the things that are kind of in front of me, which is the tour now with the Springboks and after the tour it's going to be the URC.”
As one of the squad’s elder statesmen, Mapimpi has been forced to play a supporting role, with Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe often preferred to start the big matches on the wings.
Mapimpi said the wingers work well together to drive competition.
“It's a good thing for the team,” he said.
"For me now, it's kind of assisting the players, most especially if I'm not playing at the same time.
“I think it's vice versa. If I'm playing, most of the guys are going to assist me and try to analyse the opposition team.
“I think that's a wonderful thing about this that even if anyone can play, we're going to try to assist that player so he can become better in a match.”
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