Edwill van der Merwe draws Kolbe comparisons as Springbok wing depth shines

The 29-year-old is the latest scrum-capped wing to come out of the Republic, following on from the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Kolbe and Arendse are currently the first-choice wide players, but Van der Merwe was given an opportunity against Italy and Georgia.

He scored a brace in each game to leave an impression on Parsons - so much so that with his similar build and scrum cap, the New Zealander initially thought it was Kolbe in action.

"Van der Merwe, he is a little surprise package on the wing for South Africa. I know he's probably not going to steal the spot of the current frontline wingers but, man, they've got some depth in that position," he said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“In terms of what impressed me, I think his game was... honestly, I thought it was Kolbe for most of the game until he scored that try and it didn't come up with [his name]. That's how strong his game was.”

Parsons was asked which players he felt made the biggest statements during the July Tests as he named Van der Merwe in a list which also included the All Blacks' Will Jordan and France's breakout star Mickael Guillard.

Fellow panellist Bryn Hall, who won six Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders, was also impressed by the Springboks wing but added Morne van den Berg into the mix.

Van den Berg was handed the number nine jersey for the first two matches of the mid-year series against the Barbarians and Italy, shining on both occasions.

"For the South Africans, Van der Merwe was very good but Van den Berg as well. You look at Faf de Klerk not being involved in this next part of the Australian series, you have to think that he's the new guy coming through," Hall said.