Fiks van der Merwe

Fiks van der Merwe

Full name	Barend Stephanus van der Merwe
Date of birth	(1917-01-02)2 January 1917
Place of birth	Cradock, South Africa
Date of death	11 July 2005(2005-07-11) (aged 88)
Place of death	Pretoria, South Africa
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) Natal () Northern Transvaal () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1949 South Africa 1 (0)

Barend Stephanus van der Merwe (2 January 1917 – 11 July 2005), known as Fiks van der Merwe, was a South African international rugby union player.

Raised on a farm in Cradock district, van der Merwe started his career with local side Cradock Rovers and after leaving school became a police officer in Maritzburg. He played rugby for Maritzburg Police and was capped for Natal as a scrum–half, although he later moved into the pack. A tireless player, van der Merwe was known by the nickname "Fiks" (the Afrikaans word for "fit").

During World War II, van der Merwe served in North Africa with the Police Brigade and became a German prisoner of war. He was held for a period of time at the same camp as his future Springboks teammate Okey Geffin, as well as ex–Springbok Bill Payn. At the Stalag IV-B prisoner camp, van der Merwe captained a "Springboks" team to victory over a combined side from the British Isles. He was liberated by Russians soldiers at the end of the war.

Post war, van der Merwe captained Northern Transvaal and gained a Springboks cap as a wing–forward against the All Blacks at Newlands in 1949. He continued playing until being forced into retirement in 1952 with an ankle injury.

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players