Louw ready for back row battle
Springbok and Bath flank Francois Louw is relishing the back row battle against Leinster in the European Rugby Champions Cup quarterfinal, but insists his side won't be taking special measures to combat Sean O'Brien.
O'Brien was in imperious form as Ireland clinched the Six Nations title with a 40-10 win over Scotland, scoring two tries in a Man of the Match display. He will once again be a key man if Leinster are going to reach an eighth Champions Cup semifinal.
But Louw, an integral part of Mike Ford's back row at the Premiership club, is refusing to get drawn into a personal battle with the Ireland number seven.
"It's difficult to start targeting individual players because you start chasing the wrong things. Sean is a very good player for them, and he will do damage if he is given the chance, but we won't plan around individuals.
"It would be a mistake to underestimate them and think they are not going to have an impact on the game, but there's only so much research you can do. If you concentrate on your own game and bring your best, that's all you can do," Louw said.
Louw has won the most turnovers, six in three games, of any player from either side in Europe this season despite missing the first half of the pool stage with a neck injury. It will be a first game in Europe for O'Brien in almost 16 months due to injury, making him hungrier than ever to add to his three European Cup and one Challenge Cup winners' medals.
Bath have already notched up some impressive away victories in Europe, scoring 30 and 35 points against Montpellier and Toulouse respectively. It was the four-try demolition of Toulouse in France in January that caught the eye the most, when they proved the devastating ability of their backline when playing off quick ball.
"We are very confident – we just have to execute the job now. We will take a lot of confidence from our away victories and the way we played," said Louw, who was a 16-12 winner with the Springboks against Ireland at the old Lansdowne Road in 2012.
"We had a few matches where things didn't go our way but we've tweaked our game plan. We put a lot of emphasis on our attack, we work very hard in training and we are constantly trying to improve.
"It's up to us to make it quick ball against Leinster. We've got to go back to basic principles, fighting the contact area and presenting the ball on a platter for our scrumhalf to get it away quickly – we've got to be smart in these situations but also get the basics right."
Louw admits the pressure is on Bath to beat Leinster having returned to Europe's premier club competition this season for the first time in three years. Stellar signings like Sam Burgess and the emergence of England internationals George Ford, JJ Joseph, Dave Attwood and Anthony Watson have only added to that level of expectation, as they aim for a seventh Premiership title and a first Champions Cup trophy since 1998.
"Europe is a massive competition, it's one of the biggest, if not the biggest, club competition in the world. The intensity is right up there and the further you get in the competition the more the pressure and the quality increases," said Louw.
"It's going to be one of our toughest challenges of the season, we are going up against some of the best players in the world and there will be a lot of pressure to perform. But it's good pressure, this is why you play rugby. I'm excited to be where we are now."
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