Philip "Flippie" Rudolph van der Merwe (born 8 July 1957 in Dibeng, Northern Cape Province) is a South African former rugby union player who played six test matches for the South Africa national rugby union team from 1981 to 1989.^[1]

Playing career

Van der Merwe made his provincial debut for WP in 1977 while a student at Stellenbosch University. He was selected on the replacement bench for the Springboks in the first tests against the touring British Lions in 1980.^[2] Van der Merwe made his test debut in 1981 against New Zealand on 29 August 1981 at Athletic Park in Wellington. He played his last test match for the Springboks, eight years later, against the World XV at Newlands.^[3] 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 to commemorate the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board.

Test history

No.	Opposition	Result (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Date	Venue
1.	New Zealand	24–12	Tighthead prop		29 Aug 1981	Athletic Park, Wellington
2.	New Zealand	22–25	Tighthead prop		12 Sep 1981	Eden Park, Auckland
3.	United States	38–7	Tighthead prop		20 Sep 1981	Owl Creek Polo ground, Glenville, New York
4.	New Zealand Cavaliers	21–15	Tighthead prop		10 May 1986	Newlands, Cape Town
5.	New Zealand Cavaliers	18–19	Tighthead prop		17 May 1986	Kings Park, Durban
6.	World XV	20–19	Tighthead prop		26 Aug 1989	Newlands, Cape Town

Personal

Van der Merwe is the father of François van der Merwe, a professional rugby player and Flip van der Merwe, also a former professional rugby player and Springbok.

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 526

References