Ask Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White what has been the difference for him in the way his side’s scrum has become a force to deal with in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and his answer is a massive smile.
“Wilco,” he laughs. “140kg of pure Afrikaans boerevleis (boer meat). That’s what it is.”
It isn’t a secret that the Bulls have become one of the most potent attacking scrums in the URC and it has been the bedrock of their success this season. From URC one where they struggled and were penalised regularly to a few weeks ago where the Bulls front row demolished the Hollywoodbets Sharks front row - a trio of World Cup winners - there has been a significant improvement in the way the Bulls have scrummed.
The arrival of Louw from English club Harlequins may be the easy answer, but it has been more than that. The Bulls have slowly been building under scrum coach Werner Kruger, with former Springbok lock Andries Bekker also having a hand in the preparations. Gerhard Steenekamp has been highly rated - so much so that Daan Human sees him as one of the strongest up and coming props in the country.
Steenekamp made his Bok debut last year against Argentina and was on the fringes of the Bok squad that went to the World Cup.
PERFECT COG
In essence, Louw has been the perfect cog to complete the setup. The elixir that makes the Bulls scrum tick. The rock that is keen to take on anyone, anywhere in the setpiece.
And that makes him one of the strongest assets the Bulls may have this weekend against Leinster as they face off in the semifinal.
Louw may be destined for greater things. It certainly won’t be a surprise if he is selected for the national squad after a season of success, and gets the chance to add to his 14 Springbok caps. But with all the competition in the front row currently on, he is certainly making sure it is tougher to ignore him than ever before.
“I joke when I say that,” White continues, “Wilco is an exceptionally good scrummager, and that’s taking nothing away from Gerhard, who was exceptional against Vincent Koch for instance.”
SINK OR SWIM
White underlines the fact that Louw hasn’t just been good in matches, but the experience he has given other props in the squad has been just as good.
“Wilco hasn’t been just good on the field,” White explains, “When Wilco scrums against you at the training session and you are Simphiwe (Matanzima, the Bulls replacement loosehead), you either sink or swim.
“I don’t think that you are going to get a game where you are going to get as tough opposition as you will get from Wilco on a Tuesday or Thursday scrumming session. Inevitably what happens is that the whole group improves.”
Louw’s scrumming sessions have become a thing of legend this season at the Bulls, and have the coaches talking.
“The one thing that amazes me about Wilco, often players who are good at that, don’t do it often. They like to let other players go in at scrum time. He doesn’t miss a scrum. You actually have to physically say ‘you have to swap’. He will stay there the whole session because that obviously is what he wants to get better at and pride himself on.
“We say it and it is not nice to single out a player, but since he has arrived, the mere fact that our scrum has improved is because of the effort he puts in at scrumtime.
“Then you can imagine, he scrums against Gerhard, and then Gerhard swaps with Simphiwe and Simphiwe swaps with Dylan (Smith). And he will stay there and scrum against all of them, because he gets a fresh guy every time. I said it to the team, he is playing 65-70 minutes a week and not many tighthead props do that.
“People think you have to take a tighthead prop off after 50 minutes, but he has the capacity to play and has played 65, 69, 72 minutes for us, because of the fact he does his job.
“Our scrum has improved, partly because Werner (Kruger) has worked very hard, Andries (Bekker) has brought something. Everyone is a year older. That also helps because players are maturing into older athletes.”
KEY PLAYER
But the bottom line is that Louw is key for the Bulls.
And this week he has his sights set on the all-Ireland front row of Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadgh Furlong.
“They are one of the most experienced because they have played a lot of games together, so they are possibly one of the tougher front rows,” he said in his media call on Tuesday.
“But scrumming against (the Sharks front row) of Ox Nche, Vincent Koch and Bongi Mbonambi is also tough. So I think we’ve had some good prep from playing against them. It will be good to see how we can scrum and maul against a quality side.”
Louw said he expected an arm wrestle against Leinster, but he said there wouldn’t be any niggle left over from Ireland’s failed World Cup campaign.
“Probably because of the magnitude of the game. It’s a massive game and a must-win at that. You play to win,” he said.
“If there is a bit niggle up front, and that is not our approach, we play in a blue jersey, not a green one.
“They have 14 internationals on their side, so it will feel a bit like we are playing Ireland, but it’s the Bulls against Leinster.
“But There will obviously be a few big moments in the game.
“These days with the referees one can’t push and shove, because you might just push and shove the wrong way and then you will sit on the sideline for ten minutes.
“I certainly think it will be a big contest with some big moments.”
And if those moments are in the scrum, you can bet Louw will be part of them. Hopefully making his coach continue to smile.