Akker van der Merwe rugby player
Akker van der Merwe rugby player

Akker van der Merwe

17th Jun 1991 1.78m/108kg Hooker

Lively hooker Armand van der Merwe, better known as Akker, was born in Vanderbijlpark and grew up in George where he played rugby for Outeniqua High School to win inclusion in the SWD Eagles Under-16 side for the 2007 Grant Khomo Week and their Under-18 side for the 2008 Academy Week and 2009 Craven Week competitions. He is the brother of Duhan van der Merwe

In 2010, he moved to Potchefstroom where he represented the Leopards and university side NWU Pukke. He was a regular for the Leopards U19 side during the 2010 Under-19 Provincial Championship competition, making thirteen appearances and in 2012.

He played Varsity Cup rugby for the NWU Pukke in 2013 and 2014, and made eight appearances and scored three tries in the 2014 competition.

He joined Racing 92 on a short-term deal for the start of their 2015–16 Top 14 season.

van der Merwe returned to the Lions ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season and helped the side to a Super Rugby final where they were beaten by the Hurricanes.

In November 2016 he was named in the Barbarians squad that faced Argentina, Fiji and his home nation, South Africa.

Akker made his 50th Super Rugby appearance in the 2017 Super Rugby final against the Crusaders. In August 2017 the Sharks announced that Akker will join the Durban based team. van der Merwe then helped the Sharks to the Currie Cup Final and in December he signed a two year extension which will see him remain with the side until the end of the 2019 season.

'The Raging Waterhog' made a real impact in his debut season with the Sharks and earned his first call up to the Springbok for the 2018 June Internationals. He would make three appearances for the Springboks in 2018 and featured 15 times for the Sharks.

In February 2019, Sale Sharks confirmed the lively hooker would join the Premiership club on a three-year deal following the conclusion of the 2019 Super Rugby season.

Since then, Akker has accumlated over 65 caps for Sale Sharks, scoring 30 tries across 3 different competitions (Premiership, Champions & Challenge Cup)

S.C May 2023

Career

image (9) Bulls
Hooker
2023 - present
bb Blue Bulls
Hooker
2024 - present
Outeniqua High School logo Outeniqua High School
Hooker
2007 - 2009
logo_racing2 Racing 92
Hooker
2015 - 2015
1242304858_logo Leopards
Hooker
2013 - 2016
golden_lions_thumb Lions
Hooker
2014 - 2017
lions Golden Lions
Hooker
2014 - 2017
Barbarians_Logo Barbarians
Hooker
2016 - 2017
sa South Africa
Hooker
2018 - 2018
image Natal Sharks
Hooker
2017 - 2019
image Sharks
Hooker
2018 - 2019
sale-sharks Sale Sharks
Hooker
2019 - 2023