'He's the best part of 21-stone but ridiculously fit, low body fat, just an anomaly'
Sale boss Alex Sanderson hit the front-rower nail on the head the other week when he colourfully suggested: “Getting a tighthead that can scrum and run is as rare as teddy bear s***.” This was precisely the fear that would have engulfed Harlequins fans when they learned in January 2020 that England No3 Kyle Sinckler would be joining Gallagher Premiership rivals Bristol that summer.
Losing your favourite tighthead is a monstrous headache for any scrum but Harlequins had their homework done in advance of the Sinckler departure being made official. South Africa had become a happy recruitment ground for them during the Paul Gustard era and just 17 days after the confirmation that Sinckler was leaving Harlequins for a two-year Ashton Gate deal, the Londoners announced they had captured the signature of Wilco Louw.
They bought well. Here was a seasoned tighthead with 13 Springboks caps, someone who was just back on the Super Rugby scene with the Stormers following a short World Cup cover stint at Toulon in the Top 14.
He didn’t light up the Premiership when he arrived for the post-lockdown restart of the suspended 2019/20 campaign. However, the fingerprints of Louw are all over the 2020/21 season where Harlequins have qualified for the semi-finals with two rounds of regular-season matches to spare.
It’s an achievement made all the more laudable given how the sudden January exit of Gustard as the boss should have had damaging consequences, not galvanise them to go on a run of ten wins in 14 league outings ahead of this Friday night’s visit to fellow semi-finalists Sale.
The Sale boss had claimed Harlequins "are not very gracious in victory", an explosive barb that has now drawn a response from the Londoners ahead of Friday night's Premiership clash #SALvHAR
https://t.co/YN6jB0AAJ3— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 3, 2021
For a change, Louw will be marked absent as Will Collier starts and Simon Kerrod provides the bench back-up, but this has been a campaign where the 26-year-old Springboks prop has ensured Harlequins have not missed the esteemed Sinckler. Nineteen league appearances Louw has made so far, 16 as a starter, and he has packed quite a lot into 1,042 minutes.
According to Premiership Rugby’s stats cave, there have been 78 carries for 102 metres, 140 tackles, five turnovers won, four defenders beaten, three clear breaks, two offloads, one try. More importantly, the Harlequins scrum has been a weapon and as much as scrum coach Adam Jones understandable wants to equitably pass around the praise, listing off practically every front-rower at the club and their usefulness, it is Louw’s impact that has most ensured the Sinckler departure didn’t leave their set-piece vulnerable.
“A good boy, quiet, just gets on with things. Very honest in and around his game,” said Jones when asked by RugbyPass for his summation of the 2020/21 Louw effect at Harlequins. “It doesn’t make any sense as big and as fit as he is because he is the best part of 21-stone but he is ridiculously fit, low body fat, just a bit of an anomaly really. I know what I’m like at that weight and there is no chance I’d be running around the field like he does so he has been great. It took a bit of time for him to get used to the Premiership but he has been a massive part.
“Every (training) session is incredibly competitive. There are no gentleman’s agreements anymore where we will let you win this one. We wouldn’t do a lot of live scrums in the week but when we do them they are incredibly competitive and it’s just getting the best out of everyone.
“The boys have been strong. They do a lot of good stuff in the gym and we spend a little more time analysing than we had done in the past. It has been good. Losing Kyle was a massive hole but we filled it with a substantially sized South African who we knew could scrum.
“To be fair he took a little bit of time to get used to how we scrum in the Premiership but he is showing now why we signed him and we know you have got a big bullseye on your back if you have got a good scrum. We drive it hard around the mental side of it but it certainly has been going pretty well for us.”
Asked why it took Louw a little time to get clued into the nuances of the Premiership scrum with Harlequins compared to elsewhere, Jones added: “Go to the Top 14 it’s very hit as hard as you can, driving in at angles whereas in the Premiership it’s still aggressive in the set but it’s a little bit squarer. Certainly, we try to scrum a little bit squarer.
“Instead of hitting and going straight in across, we have had to square him up a little bit and someone that size, you want him to stay as square as possible for as long as you can. It’s not rocket science but you watch Top 14 scrums, they bash into each other and next it is up in the air or collapsed whereas here it is refereed a bit different.”
'It is critical we produce more Jacks'@heagneyl 👨💻 looks at rising star of the @Harlequins backrow, @KenninghamJack , who is part of a new wave of homegrown Quins talent https://t.co/utH9icbSx7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 23, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Results probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to comments