Van der Merwe and Dee start for Barbarians

June 18, 2026 No Comments

Van der Merwe and Dee start for BarbariansImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Duhan van der Merwe and Elliot Dee played in the 2023 Rugby World CupPublished17 June 2026Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe and Wales hooker Elliot Dee will start for the Barbarians in Saturday’s fixture against South Africa (14:00 BST).Van der Merwe features in the game against the Springboks before linking up with Gregor Townsend’s squad for the Nations Championship.

Dragons hooker Dee, who has won 56 caps, missed out on selection in Steve Tandy’s squad for the summer.

The pair are in a Baa-Baas side that is captained by New Zealand scrum-half TJ Perenara and includes Argentina fly-half Tomas Albornoz.

Edinburgh’s D’Arcy Rae and Liam McConnell, who are also in Scotland’s summer squad, feature along with Munster centre Alex Nakivell.

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Barbarians men face the Springboks and then take on Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, 27 June (14:00 BST) in a double-header with a women’s fixture (17:00 BST).

South Africa are tuning up for the Nations Championship and are without their Bulls contingent because of Friday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) Grand Final at Leinster (19:30 BST).

Rassie Erasmus will take the opportunity to look at several prospects in a double-header at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with South Africa A hosting Zimbabwe in the first fixture.

The games are being played in Gqeberha which became the new name for the city previously known as Port Elizabeth.

How they line up

South Africa: Fassi; Kolbe, Kriel, Esterhuizen, van der Merwe; Horn, Williams; Nche, Venter, Sadie, Norton, Mostert, Kolisi (capt), du Toit, Wiese.

Replacements: Kotze, Mchunu, Porthen, Dixon, de Villiers, Roos, de Klerk, Moyo

Barbarians: Gellant; Kellaway, Vakatawa, Nankivell, D van der Merwe; Albornoz, Perenara (capt); Vivas, Dee, Rae, Molina, Moon, Petti, Bosher, Fai’ilagi.

Replacements: Oviedo, Kebble, Delgado, Rodda, McConnell, Arata, Plummer, Samusamuvodre.