With one of the biggest scrum battles looming in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, Bulls powerhouse tighthead prop Wilco Louw is relishing the chance to measure himself against the world’s best loosehead in Ox Nche.
While scrumming is not a one-man job and often is linked to the performance of the entire forward pack, the front row battle is nevertheless an exciting sub plot for the semifinal this weekend at Loftus Versfeld.
Louw is not a man who talks big, and prefers to let his actions show on the field, but there was a wry smile when he was asked about fronting up to Ox Nche, who is considered the best loosehead in world rugby at the moment.
Louw was incredibly complimentary about the Sharks’ setpiece, which dominated Munster and laid the platform for their second half comeback, and knows the Bulls will have to tame them this weekend if they are to make their third final in four years.
The scrum battle has a psychological aspect that can alter the game, but the Bulls know they will be foolish if they think this alone will stop the side that has beaten them twice already this season.
Still, there is something of a confidence booster when the scrums dominate, as seen in the quarterfinal against Edinburgh last weekend where referee Adam Jones allowed the Scottish side to get away with a few tricks even though the Bulls scrum dominated.
When they did get on top in the second half, it changed the game and gave the Bulls the
Louw was complimentary to the Sharks scrum and believes he is “privileged” to be able to measure himself this coming weekend against a World Cup winning front row - several of whom will be his teammates as the Boks go into their international season in a few weeks’ time.
“They (the Sharks) were particularly strong in the scrums in the second half, and that was a major reason they advanced to the semifinals,” he said this week in a media conference.
“On Saturday, in the first half, the scrums were a bit scrappy against Edinburgh. We had to shift our focus to something to get our momentum back. When momentum comes, it’s a bonus. This weekend against the Sharks, it’s going to be a tough battle.
“It is a massive privilege being able to measure yourself against the best in the world. Ox, Bongi and Vincent have won some World Cups,” Louw said in reference to the World Cup winning front row of Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Tshituka.
"This weekend I scrummed against Pierre Schoeman who was selected for the British and Irish Lions. It’s nice to go up against them because it is never easy.”
Louw was impressed with the Sharks dominance in the second half, but knows they are more than just a strong setpiece team.
“In the second half, especially, they had a lot of dominance. Our focus is fully on the Sharks, they are not an easy team to play against. They’ve got an all-round good kicking game, an incredible scrum, good mauls. We can only look at Saturday and whatever happens afterwards, happens.”
One thing that is spurring him on is the history that the Loftus Versfeld team brings - a history of 27 Currie Cup victories and three Super Rugby finals. The URC title is something they’ve twice gotten close to, but not won, and Louw knows this team has a lot to live up to in terms of history.
“You see the rich history of the Bulls. There are lots of cups they’ve won, so we want to live up to that. When you walk into the change rooms you see the champions wall with all of this union’s achievements. You feel that rich history, all the cups they have won.
"We want to live up to that. Through the history of the Bulls, there have always been successful teams. That is why we do what we do. We do it for a bigger purpose than just ourselves. We do it for an incredible union, and we do it for our families.”
The Bulls will name their side for the clash on Friday.
On Thursday morning the Bulls confirmed that there were only 7 000 tickets left for the semifinal as it fast heads to being close to a sellout. The tickets are available at Ticketpro.