OUR MEETING POINT is the coffee shop in Glenwood High School in Durban and we should have known that even this spot would have a rugby theme.
Up and Under, the little café is called, and there’s even a rugby ball symbol on the sign over the entrance.
Across the small courtyard outside is Glenwood’s main rugby pitch, which has tiered terraces on two sides and a huge sign saying ‘Home of the Green Machine,’ the rugby team’s nickname.
This public school has produced nine Springboks, with brothers Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse the latest. On one side of the courtyard is a notice board all about Warren Whiteley, who came through Glenwood to play for South Africa.
Class is in session but there’s a group of boys in Up and Under, all of whom turn to say, “Good morning, sir” and offer assistance before they turn back to the TV, which is showing a rerun of the All Blacks’ win over England last weekend.
The bell blasts and suddenly, there are hundreds of boys streaming through the courtyard. Virtually every single one of them says, “Good morning, sir” or “Welcome, sir” even though they haven’t a clue who they’re addressing. The boys wear dark green blazers, white cotton jumpers, ties, grey pants, and black shoes.
Just as the threat of becoming hoarse from bidding these polite young men a good morning looms, former Leinster prop Heinke van der Merwe comes strolling through the sea of students. The 39-year-old looks like he could still lock out a scrum.
Van der Merwe retired from playing in 2019 after a six-season stint in France where he helped Stade Français to a Top 14 title, but he reflects as fondly on the three years he had with Leinster from 2010 to 2013.
That was a fruitful spell for the province as they won back-to-back Heineken Cup trophies under Joe Schmidt and added a Pro12 title.
“It put new life into my rugby career to go to Leinster with all those players who were at the top of their game, I was blessed to be part of that group and also work with Joe,” says van der Merwe after taking a seat in the coffee shop.
He is now an assistant coach for Glenwood’s first XV and loves helping to develop young players but his main role is as the school’s ‘head of recruitment,’ identifying and recruiting talented youngsters who can make the Green Machine better.
His job involves watching lots of rugby from around the country, starting right down at U12 level. The SuperSport Schools app makes it much easier, with matches from across South Africa now streamed live, but he still likes to be there in person when he can.
This is the reality of schools rugby here, with the brightest young prospects attracting bursary offers from places like Glenwood, who aren’t currently seen as one of the top South African schools but have ambitions to return to the top. As we’ve seen with some of the current Springboks, these scholarships can change the youngsters’ lives.
“South African schools rugby is almost professional at this stage,” says van der Merwe. “It’s next level in that schoolboys are getting identified from the age of 12, 13, or 14 and everyone tracks them.”
Van der Merwe understands the pressures and stresses of professional rugby but one of the things that makes him uncomfortable is how that can sometimes filter down into the schools game in South Africa.
“It’s sad that some parents are living their lives through their kids and want them to just get a bursary because they get free schooling,” he says. “That pressure is the sad part of it.”
The level of public interest in the schoolboy game also poses a challenge in keeping young players’ feet on the ground.
All the more so because the best prospects have agents and clubs vying to snap them up.
“You get agents approaching the boys and I just try to guide them, tell them what I learned over the years with my experience,” says van der Merwe.
“It’s nice to have that but a lot of the kids like to think they have made it if an agent comes to them and tells them they want to work with them.
“You still have to work hard to make it as a professional – injuries and competition to make it through means it’s so difficult.”
Van der Merwe enjoys hands-on coaching and would love to do it professionally in the future, but he’s happy where he is now in Durban with his young family.
He and his wife, Nicole, have two sons. Dante is in Glenwood, while Eli is still in primary school. They’re grateful their boys got to experience life outside South Africa, giving them a broader perspective of the world.
Eli was born in Dublin and enjoys supporting South Africa and Ireland. He’s a hooker and when he’s asked who his favourite player is, he says Malcolm Marx and Dan Sheehan.
“We loved everything about Ireland,” says van der Merwe of their time in Ireland. “We stayed in Rathfarnham close to Marley Park so we would take the kids there a lot. The Irish people are friendly people.”
Van der Merwe came through Hoërskool Monument near his native Johannesburg and broke into the professional game with the Lions, becoming a Springbok for the first time in 2007 when he was still just 22.
A severe knee injury hampered his progress and, remarkably, he never had his ACL repaired, playing the last 10 years of his career without it. He’s never had it fixed.
“No, still not,” he says with a smile. “It’s probably not good for the future.”
Leinster were looking for a replacement for CJ van der Linde in 2010 and van der Merwe’s contract with the Lions was up, so he accepted the offer of a new chapter in Ireland.
His timing couldn’t have been better as Schmidt joined at the same time.
“He was definitely the best coach I had in my career,” says van der Merwe, who explained that it wasn’t just Schmidt’s work ethic and attention to detail that sticks with him now.
“His people skills with the players, normal stuff, asking how your family was. I remember my youngest son, who was born in Ireland, got sick one time and Joe called me saying to stay with my family.
“He said, ‘Family is all you have and it’s very important, so just see if everything’s fine and come to training the next day.’ He had a good relationship with everyone.”
Leinster won the Heineken Cup in 2011 and 2012, with van der Merwe coming off the bench for Cian Healy in both finals.
The first one against Northampton at the Millenium Stadium is the stuff of legend, Leinster overturning a huge half-time deficit to win.
“To come back from 22-6 down was something crazy,” says van der Merwe. “It feels like a story, not real life. At half time, Joe and the guys were calm. They didn’t panic, Johnny Sexton was just saying to stick to the plan.
“It was unheard of to come back from that kind of margin. The celebrations were special, I’ll always cherish that.”
Leinster beat Ulster well in 2012 at Twickenham and it was extra special for van der Merwe because his father, Schalk, made the trip from South Africa to watch it.
Schalk sat beside Brian O’Driscoll’s family on the flight from Dublin to London, then watched his son scoring a try as Leinster defended their title.
“He loved it, how welcome they made him feel,” says van der Merwe. “Leinster supporters are amazing. Playing in the Aviva was great but the RDS was nearly better because of the supporters.”
Van der Merwe was grateful to play in a great Leinster team with the likes of Sexton, O’Driscoll, and Jamie Heaslip, as well as Brad Thorn for a short stint in 2012.
He admired how Leinster had their pipeline in order, with Josh van der Flier and Tadhg Furlong among the big academy prospects during his time with the province.
And then there was his fellow loosehead, Healy, whose longevity van der Merwe admires.
“He’s still playing, I can’t believe he’s still going!” says van der Merwe.
“Even when I arrived, he had a phenomenal work rate on and off the field so it was a healthy competition for that place. That brings the best out of players. He has been awesome for Leinster and Ireland, his record is amazing. I take my hat off to him.”
While he was in Ireland, van der Merwe’s Springboks career was briefly reignited as he was called into their squad for the 2012 November Tests.
He wasn’t picked in the matchday 23 for the first clash of the campaign against Ireland in Dublin but suddenly found himself sprung into action on the day of the game when Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira was ruled out due to a heart issue.
“Back then, the non-players used to be called the ‘Dirties’ so the Dirties used to go out on a Friday night,” says van der Merwe with a big laugh.
“We went to Jamie Heaslip’s restaurant, Bear, and ended up in that part of town. We went out for a couple of drinks at some places there. But then I get the call the next morning saying, ‘You’re going to be on the bench.’
“I’m sitting on the bench and can see CJ van der Linde was struggling with injuries, so I had to be ready from the start. They changed it around after that so the Dirties couldn’t go out on Fridays, they could only go after the game.”
Van der Merwe won three caps off the bench against Ireland, Scotland, and England but didn’t play again until 2015 when he won his fifth and final Boks cap against the Wallabies. He had dreamed of winning 100 caps in the green and gold jersey but cherishes the memories of those five Springboks appearances.
Van der Merwe wanted to stay with Leinster beyond the end of his contract in 2013 but Munster had a non-Irish-qualified loosehead in Wiaan du Preez at the time and Leinster couldn’t get approval. Moving on to win the Top 14 with Stade Français in 2015 was another big career highlight he takes pride in.
Now, van der Merwe is occupied with planning for the upcoming games against Hoërskool Rustenburg, while Glenwood are hosting the touring Antrim Grammar School next week.
As the conversation wraps up, the bell goes again and hundreds of Springboks hopefuls crisscross the courtyard thinking about being the next Jaden Hendrikse.
