Edinburgh v Glasgow: Duhan van der Merwe excited to face 'Scotland backline'

Van der Merwe has scored 15 tries in 29 games for Edinburgh

Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe cannot wait to face "basically the Scotland backline" in Saturday's first of two festive derbies with Glasgow.

The South African, 23, scored a vital try in Sunday's pivotal European Champions Cup win at Newcastle.

And he is "really excited" about taking on a Warriors backline including Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour and Huw Jones.

"They have been very good this season," he said. "It's exciting for us to go up against a full Scottish backline."

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Van der Merwe played in all three derbies last season after arriving from Montpellier, scoring a try in Edinburgh's 24-19 victory at Murrayfield in the last round of the regular Pro14 campaign.

That was their second win of the season over their inter-city rivals, having prevailed 18-17 in the first encounter just before Christmas, also at Murrayfield, despite a sixth-minute red card for prop Simon Berghan.

Glasgow won their home game 17-0 a week later at Scotstoun, which will stage the second leg of this year's 1872 Cup competition on 29 December.

"When I got here, the boys were just saying 'wait until the Glasgow game'," Van der Merwe recalled of the rivalry.

"But, after playing in the matches, now I can understand why the boys get so hyped up for the games against Glasgow.

"It is a big game, it is a big derby, and the boys really get themselves up for it. So it is an exciting week and an exciting game in prospect."

Edinburgh top of their Champions Cup pool after four rounds, but they currently lie fifth out of seven in Conference B of the Pro14, seven points behind Ulster in the third play-off spot.

Van der Merwe hopes last weekend's victory at Newcastle, their first away from home in eight months, will be "a massive booster" as they aim to move up the table over the coming weeks.

"We have been very strong at home, but very inconsistent away," he noted.

"Last weekend was really important for us because we need to start winning our away games if we want to qualify in Europe and in the Pro14."