Duhan van der Merwe is built like an action hero with a hint of Jonah Lomu

When you cast your eye over the wings involved in the Six Nations there is something different about Duhan van der Merwe, built like Mr Incredible with a combination of size and speed which his rivals lack.

Obviously those physical traits stand out more when you compare Van der Merwe with his opposite wing for Scotland; either Darcy Graham or Kyle Steyn, with their bursts of acceleration and background playing sevens, which is also the case for Italy’s Lorenzo Pani.

England and Ireland have Elliot Daly and James Lowe; excellent finishers who are also highly valued for their respected kicking games with their left feet. Rio Dyer is rapid, while you would back Josh Adams and Monty Ioane to take most chances which come their way. Tommy Freeman is intriguing with his own pace and frame, but not as big. Damian Penaud matches Van der Merwe for height but appears to glide his way across the field while thriving in the air, which you could also say about the smaller Louis Bierre-Biarrey.

Van der Merwe is something of a Test rugby unicorn. To be that powerful and that quick does not really seem fair.

Yes, it absolutely feels ludicrous comparing any player with Jonah Lomu, and obviously Van der Merwe does not have Lomu’s same immediate explosiveness off the mark. But there are traits, hints of Lomu in the way Van der Merwe makes other adult players look small, and the way defences cannot cope with him despite their best intentions when he gets rolling. Fortunately, somebody else more qualified has previously made that comparison. Well, almost.

“It reminded me – if you are a certain age – of when you played Jonah Lomu rugby and suddenly one person can go quicker,” Gregor Townsend, Scotland’s head coach, said after Van der Merwe’s remarkable long-range try against England at Twickenham last year. There was also a nice quirk to Van der Merwe’s performance against Tonga at last year’s Rugby World Cup when he beat 14 defenders, one short of the 15 Lomu beat playing against Scotland at the 1995 tournament (as noted by Opta). In fact since his debut for Scotland at the end of 2020, Van der Merwe has beaten 81 defenders in the Six Nations. No other winger has managed more than 55 (Penaud).

After Scotland’s first win in Cardiff for 22 years last week, Townsend noted with a smile that Van der Merwe had not scored before against Wales. He finished the game with two and almost had a hat-trick, his second another classic to add to his ever-growing collection. That brace has taken Van der Merwe to 23 tries for Scotland, third on the all-time list with Stuart Hogg’s record of 27 now within sight (Graham is tied second on 24). When you consider that Van der Merwe’s Test debut came less than 3½ years ago, breaking Hogg’s record feels inevitable. It might even happen in this championship after his hot start.

“He is one of the best broken-field runners in the game,” a rival international coach told Telegraph Sport this week.

“You need to close his space down early and kick to contest rather than give him time and a chance to run back where he can pick off defenders with his footwork and fend.”

Wales, it’s fair to say, did not follow those instructions in Cardiff. The combination of Tomos Williams’ box-kick travelling too far - Insights by Sage show it travelled 36.1 metres - and a slow kick-chase meant that as soon as Finn Russell’s offload found Van der Merwe coming on to the ball at pace from 46.5 metres out, you knew that Wales were toast. Williams’ punishment for his inaccuracy was having to face Van der Merwe one-on-one, not that he managed to lay a finger on him with the Scotland wing turning on the jets.

That try against England in the win at Twickenham featured a similar recipe, although Jack van Poortvliet’s clearance actually went further and lower; in other words, it was worse. Even so, England had chances to stop Van der Merwe from 57 metres out and no one could; a combination of brilliant side-stepping finished with an almighty fend to Alex Dombrandt leading to the try of the year – if not most years. Watch the clip without commentary and you can pick up presumably Owen Farrell, who missed the first tackle, on the referee’s microphone swearing in exasperation.

Not that Van der Merwe is just some long-range specialist. The same Test coach highlighted his hard work-rate off the ball to create try-scoring opportunities, with one improbable score off his wing on the tour to Argentina in 2022, finishing with two defenders hanging off his back, being a good example.

At a time when the sport is making a concerted effort to draw in new supporters through documentaries, Van der Merwe resembles a blockbuster attraction, producing the highlight-reel moments which sell the game better than any gimmicks. If they win on Saturday at Murrayfield then he can also help Scotland be genuine contenders in this championship. France have been warned. Kick aimlessly, and Van der Merwe will punish you.