Scotland winger Duhan van der Merwe has revealed that he has been subjected to online abuse over his selection for the Lions.

The powerful winger, who was born in South Africa, qualified to play for Scotland via World Rugby's now defunct three-year residency rule, and is set to return to the country of his birth and feature for the Lions.

Van der Merwe has been trying to turn a blind eye to what has been said on social media, as he looks to focus on the upcoming tour to South Africa.

"I've had a think about that and I'm just going to ignore those kinds of bits," he said.

"I've just been ignoring the stuff that people have been saying on social media and those bits. I know how I feel in my heart sitting here representing the Lions and that's all that matters.

"You get the odd comment here and there about 'He was born in South Africa, he shouldn't be representing Scotland the Lions, he's going back to South Africa and he shouldn't be representing the Lions,' all those kinds of bits.

"I don't want to really go into detail about that, but I just put all that behind me and focus on what I can focus on."

Asked if that kind of criticism motivates him, Van der Merwe simple responded: "Yes, it does."

The 26-year-old was born in George, the same city as CJ Stander was born, and despite playing for South Africa at underage level, Van der Merwe relaunched his career in Europe when he joined Montpellier in 2016.

He moved to Edinburgh the following year and having spent four years in the Scottish capital, Van der Merwe will join English Premiership strugglers next season.

The former Bulls player will start on the wing for the Lions tomorrow when Japan visit Murrayfield.

"If you asked me when I left South Africa if I ever thought I would represent the British and Irish Lions in South Africa, I would probably have said no," Van der Merwe admitted.

"I'm absolutely buzzing being involved and I'm looking forward to being there.

"All my friends are excited to watch the games live on TV and my family is backing me, which is the most important thing. They're all behind me.

"A lot of us know what kind of game-plan South Africa are going to bring - they're big, physical men. They haven't played for so long, who knows what else they're going to bring.

"I obviously speak Afrikaans, so if I hear something on the field, I will feed it back to the boys, to be honest.

"I obviously left quite early, I started here in Edinburgh. I'm not going to go back and say, 'Look, this is what I achieved as a player, so screw you guys' - sorry to put it that way. I'm just focusing on myself and I'm buzzing to go back as a Lions player."