 said do you fancy carrying and he got me on the ball again,' reveals Van der Merwe. 'I made the switch and he saw that and showed the way he matured. He is a leader in our squad and for him to come up to me knowing that I was down or whatever and he wanted to get me on board and back in the game was quite special. 'I said to him after the game: 'Thanks for coming up to me'. He said: 'The head loss came on, but we need you.' 'I live for perfection and want to give my best for Scotland. I don't like making mistakes, but I guess that is part of the game. In the past I probably struggled a wee bit with that.' The South African-born winger, who qualifies for Scotland on residency grounds, has also taken steps off the pitch to work on his confidence and concentration, working with Aaron Walsh, the SRU's mental skills coach who also works with the Chiefs in New Zealand. 'I have sat down with him and he is an amazing guy who understands me. He said after the game: 'It was brilliant to see you make that switch but next time for you being out for four minutes, let's get it down to two minutes to get you back into the game again. I keep on working with him. 'There will always be mistakes, which is not great for us perfectionists. Sometimes when I make a mistake I shy away for a wee bit. It's quite tough mentally at times but having Walshy with us the squad is someone I can work with on things and I have got loads better. 'I sometimes don't have a lot of opportunities, when I look and think: 'I can actually score here.' When I miss out on that oppor){kind=link}
Scotland wing, constantly striving for perfection, opens up about his demons as he prepares for an emotional World Cup opener
There was a moment during Scotland’s World Cup warm-up match against France when Finn Russell spotted something was up with Duhan van der Merwe.
Fresh from their victory with just 14-men against the World Cup hosts at Murrayfield, Scotland were under the pump during the return fixture in St Etienne against a full-strength French side when Russell noticed that his wing appeared to have withdrawn from the contest.
Van der Merwe, by his own admission had drifted out of the game, suffering from “a bit of head loss” after making a couple of errors.
At 6ft 4ins and weighing almost 17st, the 28-year-old may cut a hugely intimidating figure on the pitch, but it may surprise some that there is a vulnerable side to him too. Internally he admits that at times he faces a mental battle of self-belief, and for a couple of minutes against France, his head dropped – until Russell intervened.