The latest on South African's B&I Lions dream

INJURY UPDATE: Edinburgh’s latest injury update on Duhan van der Merwe has left British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell with a dilemma.

Edinburgh confirmed that Scotland wing Van der Merwe is set to be on the sidelines for several weeks.

The 29-year-old sustained an ankle injury during Edinburgh’s United Rugby Championship win over the Dragons last Friday.

According to Edinburgh’s statement, issued on Tuesday, Van der Merwe is “is expected to return during May” after receiving the results of an MRI scan the player had on Monday.

This means that he will miss the rest of Edinburgh’s Challenge Cup campaign, should they progress to quarterfinals and semifinals and, most likely, the URC matches against Connacht on May 10 and Ulster on May 16

Furthermore, given the lay-off, it is unlikely that the South African would be ready and match-fit by the time Andy Farrell names his B&I Lions squad for the tour to Australia on May 8.

#SPOTLIGHT: SA prop ready to bully countrymen for B&I Lions spot 👇#ChallengeCup #Lions #Edinburgh #Lions2025 https://t.co/Dh4PemWLhj

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) April 1, 2025

Van der Merwe started all three Tests on the last Lions tour of South Africa in 2021.

However, he was already facing stiff competition from the likes of Ireland’s James Lowe and Mack Hansen, and now there is also the likes of England’s Tommy Freeman and country teammate Darcy Graham to compete with for a place in the squad heading Down Under.

The 27-year-old Graham followed up his recent try-scoring contributions for the national team against Wales and France by returning to club rugby with a man-of-the-match display against Dragons.

In a double blow for Sean Everitt’s squad, Scotland lock Marshall Sykes has also been ruled out for the final five games of the URC regular season with a foot injury.

Sykes, who made his Six Nations debut off the bench in Scotland’s final match against France in Paris, has sustained a plantar fascia issue.