Ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash with Munster in Pretoria on Saturday, Bulls tighthead prop Wilco Louw revealed that they are aiming to reach the high standard set by the Springboks in terms of scrummaging.
The Springboks have been leading the way in that facet of play in the international arena, and Louw, along with fellow Bulls front-rowers Gerhard Steenekamp (loosehead prop) and Johan Grobbelaar (hooker), will be determined to set a solid platform from the set-piece for their team-mates against the Munstermen.
Part of Boks’ first alignment camp
Last month, the aforementioned trio were part of the Boks‘ first alignment camp of the season, and they will be aiming to make their presence felt in the scrums against an experienced Munster front-row of Niall Scannell (hooker), Jeremy Loughman (props), and Stephen Archer, who have all played for Ireland in Test matches.
With 14 international games under his belt, Louw thinks the Boks’ scrum-time standards are a surefire way to succeed, and the Bulls’ forwards aim to follow suit.
“I think everyone in the world wants to scrum like them; you look at the reward the Springboks get from having a really dominant scrum,” he said to the Citizen.
While it’s enjoyable to play every week, we can still obtain the go-forward ball if there is a rotation. We should get to know one another better; the more we do so, the better.
“The Springboks have set the standard for the whole world. It’s not every day that you see the fullback catching the ball, calling the mark and asking for the scrum. That’s where everyone wants to go. It’s a good base for us to attack off, and hopefully, we can keep building on it every week.”
Louw knows that the forward battle will play a massive role in their battle against Munster, who are the URC‘s defending champions, and believes that the side that wins the game on the offensive will very certainly win it as well.
“I don’t think there is a single team in the URC that isn’t a strong scrummer or that can’t get off the field. Louw clarified, “They (Munster) are a pretty excellent team, a fantastic mauling side, and they are quite muscular.
“We should maintain possession of the ball and, of course, maintain our momentum with strong scrums. It’s quite difficult to play against them, but they deserve all the credit for being a really strong team that won the URC the previous season. Ideally, we can follow through on our strategy and do our best to carry it out.
Former Bulls star returns
The Bulls will also be welcoming back one of their former stalwarts, Springboks lock RG Snyman, who will make his return to action in Munster’s second-row after some time on the sidelines due to injury.
“Unfortunately, he is wearing a Munster jersey, so it’s going to be a tough battle. He has been playing really well, it will be tough,” said Louw.
