How the Bulls revived Louw's Bok career
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok prop Wilco Louw has established himself as a regular in the national set-up after spending time in the international wilderness.
Louw made his Bok debut in 2017 against New Zealand and played 22 Tests to date.
He featured in all but one of the Boks’ Test fixtures this season and will add cap No.23 against Argentina at Kings Park this Saturday.
Louw’s time in the national set-up hasn’t been one of consistency.
Since his debut, he has had a few dry spells.
He played in the last match against Argentina before the Boks travelled to Japan for the 2019 World Cup and missed out on squad selection for that tournament.
He subsequently moved to Harlequins in 2020 and spent three seasons with the Premiership outfit.
During his stint at Harlequins, Louw only played one Test in 2021 against Argentina ahead of the British and Irish Lions series – another event he also missed out on.
It took three long years before he would play another Test.
Louw started against England in November 2024 and never looked back.
He has enjoyed a consistent run lately in the green and gold and credited his provincial team, the Bulls, for playing a massive role in it.
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“I came back to the Bulls from Harlequins, and I’ve been enjoying my rugby.
“That’s one of the most important things, to enjoy what you do. Not that I didn’t at Harlequins.
“But being in a South African coaching system and playing for the Bulls, who have an amazing pack with incredible players such as Gerhard Steenekamp, Grobbies [Johan Grobbelaar] and Jannie [Jan-Hendrik Wessels], is awesome.
“It’s the same as here [with the Boks]. Everyone has the same mentality to dominate in the scrum.
“It’s been a good season and an enjoyable one.
“If you can do your job and enjoy it, it just motivates you a bit more.
“It’s an amazing honour being in the Bok squad and getting to test yourself every week against some of the best in the world.
“Scrummaging against those players forces you to be better, otherwise you’re going to suffer a bit.”
Looking ahead to the weekend against Los Pumas, Louw will come off the bench as a reserve.
He has been entrusted with the impact role in the Boks’ three previous Tests against Australia and New Zealand, respectively.
The 31-year-old has no qualms about being a replacement, and he is embracing his current role in the team.
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“I’ve got a certain role to play coming off the bench,” Louw told @rugby365com.
“My first job is to scrum and maul. I’m just excited to get another opportunity to play.
“All of us have a role. Firstly, we want to earn dominance at set-piece.
“That will be my main job to come on, enjoy it and play some good rugby.”
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