Bulls front-row Wilco Louw is relishing the opportunity to go head-to-head against the Sharks in their eagerly anticipated United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final in Pretoria on Saturday.
The 30-year-old is bracing himself for a tough challenge against the Sharks’ Rugby World Cup-winning front-row of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch and his direct battle with Nche.
Louw also singled the Durban-based outfit’s back-up front-row of Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchumu and Hanro Jacobs, who also gave a good account of themselves when they took to the field in their quarter-final triumph against Munster at the weekend.
Focused on scrum dominance
The 16-Test South African international did not mince his words about the task which awaits him when he takes to the field on Saturday and is fully focused on delivering a dominant performance in the scrums against his Springboks team-mates.
“In the Munster game, they had incredible scrums all the way through the whole 100 minutes,” said Louw. “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 are not looking any further than Saturday.
“Whatever happens afterwards, happens.”
The Bulls are one of the most successful sides in South African rugby, and their rich history and various successes over the years will serve as motivation against the Sharks.
A victory over the Sharks will see them take on the winners of the other semi-final between Leinster and Glasgow Warriors, and that will mean the Bulls will advance to their third URC final.
Despite their previous finals, the men from Pretoria are yet to win the URC title after finishing as runners-up in 2022 and 2024 against the Stormers and Glasgow, respectively.
‘We want to live up to that’
“You see the rich history of the Bulls. There are lots of cups they’ve won, so we want to live up to that,” said Louw in reference to their three Super Rugby and 27 Currie Cup wins.
“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.”
When reflecting on the Bulls’ quarter-final triumph over Edinburgh, Louw admitted that their scrummaging can still improve, as they had to dig deep in that facet of play, especially when they were trailing Edinburgh 21-8 early in the opening period.
Contemplating their quarter-final win against Edinburgh, Louw said the Bulls had weathered the storm that saw them 21–8 behind at one point before taking control of proceedings as the game progressed.
“They were particularly strong in the scrums in the second half, and that was a major reason they advanced to the semi-finals.
“On Saturday, in the first half, the scrums were a bit scrappy,” said Louw.
“Then 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.”
READ MORE: Jake White backs ‘unknown fly-half’ to shine for Bulls in URC semi-final against Sharks
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/wilco-louw-identifies-areas-which-will-be-crucial-for-bulls-in-urc-semi-final-with-sharks
