Marnus van der Merwe has credited the Scarlets coaching staff and playing group with laying the groundwork for his Springbok breakthrough, as he prepares to leave Llanelli for Munster at the end of the season.
The hooker joined the Scarlets from the Cheetahs ahead of the 2024/25 campaign and within his first year had earned a Test debut, scoring twice against Georgia last July before featuring in the Rugby Championship title-winning wins over New Zealand and Australia.
"The coaching staff helped me achieve my dream, and every step from the start I joined here, they told me they wanted to push to get me there," Van der Merwe told the BBC. "I'll never forget this place."
Head coach Dwayne Peel and former Springbok lock Albert van den Berg, who serves as forwards coach, were central to that development. Van der Merwe was candid about the standards demanded of him. "Even coaches that were hard on me, players that were hard on me, they made me the player who I am now. I couldn't have picked a better club to be at."
Despite the Scarlets being out of URC play-off contention — 23 points from 15 games with three rounds to go — Van der Merwe is focused on finishing strongly, with the Bulls the next opponents at Parc y Scarlets.
"They're loaded with Springboks, a lot of good players, a lot of physical players," he said. "They are a good scrummaging side, a good mauling side, good ball runners, tough tackling and very physical. We just need to step up physically, make sure we are in the game physically, then you will have a good game at hand."