If a person’s knowledge about rugby is directly proportional to the time he or she has played the game, then Schalk Van Der Merwe’s knowledge is second to none.

Van Der Merwe, senior in mechanical engineering, is originally from Zimbabwe. Now a member of the ISU Rugby Club, he began playing rugby when he was 6 years old.

Van Der Merwe came to the United States from Zimbabwe two and a half years ago. He followed a friend to Cedar Rapids, where they attended Kirkwood Community College.

“I followed along looking for a new experience,” Van Der Merwe said.

He started in the CAD/mechanical engineering technology program, which is a two-year degree, but soon felt he was wasting his time. Van Der Merwe then changed to the pre-engineering program and transferred to Iowa State at the beginning of the 2003 fall semester.

Van Der Merwe joined the rugby club that semester, and the team took notice immediately.

“Right away, Schalk had a huge impact on the team,” said Adam Anderson, senior in agricultural studies and the club’s vice president. “The guy is an animal. He plays with a lot of heart. He had a big influence on the team being from Zimbabwe. He brought a lot of experience.”

Zimbabweans hold rugby in the same regard that Americans do football.

School children start playing at the age of five or six, and they continue to play through high school. Tradition is also very important in rugby.

“Before every game of rugby, we kneel down and pray,” Van Der Merwe said. “People live and breathe rugby in Zimbabwe; everybody supports you. You usually have 200 to 300 people supporting a team in a small community.”

Van Der Merwe became a quiet leader as soon as he joined the team.

“Schalk is soft-spoken. The team looks up to him because he scores, tries and tackles hard,” said Jon Crosbie, the team’s coach and a Daily columnist.

“He has a ton of heart and goes 100 percent all the time. He is very good at conveying his knowledge of the game to others on the team.”

For example, Van Der Merwe was able to help Dan Brown, a team forward, become a better kicker. He worked with Brown and taught him how and when to kick a grubber — a little scattering kick along the ground that allows the forward to avoid being hit.

“Schalk understands a lot about forward play,” Crosbie said. “He will point out the finer points that turn a good forward into a great forward.”

Last Saturday, Van Der Merwe helped the rugby club defeat Northern Illinois University 36-0 by making two tries — a five-point score similar to a football touchdown.

However, Crosbie was disappointed with the win. Not because of how the club played, but because of the Northern Illinois team.

“They were so injury-plagued that we had to give them two of our guys,” Crosbie said. “Those two were easily better athletes than 95 percent of their team. We always want a little competition, but a win’s a win.”

The ISU Rugby Club plays the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 10 a.m. Saturday at the rugby pitch, which is on the athletic field east of Towers.

“They are going to come to play and so are we,” Crosbie said. “This is the first league match when it really starts to count. The last two games have been relatively easy. The next one certainly will not be, but we will be ready to play.”