Philip "Flippie" Rudolph van der Merwe (born 8 July 1957 in Dibeng,

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

) is a South African former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who played six test matches for the

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

from 1981 to 1989.

Playing career

Van der Merwe made his provincial debut for WP in 1977 while a student at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

. He was selected on the replacement bench for the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

in the first tests against the touring British Lions in 1980. Van der Merwe made his test debut in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

against New Zealand on 29 August 1981 at Athletic Park in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

. He played his last test match for the Springboks, eight years later, against the World XV at Newlands. Van der Merwe also played in six tour matches for the Springboks. In 1986, van der Merwe was selected to represent the Overseas Unions XV against the Five Nations XV in a match played at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union ( RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team pl ...

to commemorate the centenary of the

International Rugby Football Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

Test history

Personal

Van der Merwe is the father of

François van der Merwe François van der Merwe is a South African professional rugby union player. He plays at lock for Lyon Olympique in the Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 1 ...

, a professional rugby player and Flip van der Merwe, also a former professional rugby player and

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Der Merwe, Flippie 1957 births South African rugby union players Living people South Africa international rugby union players Western Province (rugby union) players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Leopards (rugby union) players Griquas (rugby union) players SWD Eagles players Rugby union props Rugby union players from the Northern Cape

Playing career

Test history

Personal

See also

References