4G pitches a huge challenge on tour says Bulls prop
SPOTLIGHT: The Bulls' Wilco Louw says the biggest challenge of their United Rugby Championship tour of four weeks will be getting used to the 4G pitches as soon as possible.
The Bulls won their URC opener against the Scarlets at Loftus quite convincingly by 63-21.
The big Springbok prop spent a large portion of his youth career playing for the Blue Bulls U19s before returning to Cape Town, his place of birth, to join the Stormers.
He featured 53 times for the men in blue and white but departed his home city in 2020, joining Toulon on a short-term contract before moving to England to sign with Harlequins.
Of the 44 appearances he made for the London club, Louw’s most memorable game is no doubt the 2021 Premiership final. He started the for Harlequins and scored a try as his side went on to win 40-38 in a thriller against Exeter Chiefs, claiming their first title since 2012.
Louw brings Test rugby experience having featured 14 times for the Springboks. He made his first appearance off the bench in a tight loss in 2017 to New Zealand, while his latest showing came against Argentina in 2021.
"It’s going to be a good test for us as a team and as a pack, especially to play on 4G pitches, to test ourselves and to develop.
"The boys have been playing in the URC for a few seasons now, so hopefully it helps us with the bit of experience we have of playing on the 4G pitches," Louw told a media briefing on Tuesday.
He spoke about settling in with his family in England and having to contend with the artificial pitches having not had any experience of that growing up in South Africa.
"The first three games were a bit tough, obviously playing on a lot of 4G pitches that we don’t have in South Africa.
"And the weather plays a big role. It was tough. It took a few games just to get used to all the factors. At the end of the day it is still rugby, it is still a scrum. You have to adapt and you have to make the best of a weird situation.
"I’m not saying it’s bad, you just that you have to get used to it."
When the opportunity came up to return to South Africa, he grabbed at the chance while it can also bring him into the Springbok radar again.
"It’s always nice coming back to South Africa. My family and I had a really good time in England but we always knew we wanted to come back and when we got the opportunity to come to the Bulls, we were really excited," he said."
"It’s good to be back, I left on good terms. Everyone here is very welcoming and its great to work with quality coaches and players. It was a good start to our season and I am looking forward to the rest of the season. Hopefully we can just go from strength to strength.
"It is any rugby players' dream to play for his country. For now I just want to play good rugby for the Bulls. I think the foundation needs to be there of playing good quality rugby every weekend and if it happens, it happens. It will be unbelievable.
"South Africa is our home, en we really wanted to come back. It is wonderful to be here."
The Bulls embark on a four-week tour this week and Louw says it will be a good time for the team to bond and get better.
"Touring and being away from home is never easy. Playing quality sides as will do on tour, playing our first game against Ulster, they are a good team, good set-piece and good maul with really good backs.
"So I think it is going to be a good test for us, it’s still early in the season and it can galvanise us and help us with the rest of the season.
Additional source @RugbyPass