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Springbok prop backs 'destructive' Joe Marler for Lions tour to South Africa
Springbok Wilco Louw is backing Harlequins teammate Joe Marler to win selection for the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, despite the England prop opting out of the Six Nations championship. Marler helped his pregnant wife look after their three children while his England teammates went through two months in a “bubble” to ensure they were able to take part in the championship despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Warren Gatland, the Lions head coach, took Marler on the 2017 tour to New Zealand and knows the player’s scrum power and unique personality could be important in staving off the boredom of having to operate in “bubbles” in Johannesburg and Cape Town where they will play eight matches, including three tests against the World Cup winning Springboks.
Gatland will name his 36-man squad in less than three weeks and Marler is the form loosehead in England.
Tighthead prop Louw, who has won 13 Springbok caps, has seen first hand the destructive power of Marler’s scrum work and tackling this season as Quins have secured a top four place in the Gallagher Premiership.
“The way Joe has been playing and performing this season he will definitely be in the mix for the Lions,” Louw told RugbyPass.
“Joe is one of the best looseheads in the business and also one of the most destructive tacklers and he makes some big hits.
“It is great being around him on the pitch, and off it he is a joker and I have learnt so much from him. Joe is an incredible human being and I enjoy working with him and one of the big things I was most excited about coming here was to play with him.
“Joe has helped me so much and back in South Africa in Super Rugby you play against the same opponents each year and you know their tricks. I don’t know the tricks of the trade of the guys over here and so Joe and Scott (Baldwin, hooker) have been a massive help.
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“Joe and Scott are really great in the scrums and they are awesome guys and Matt Symons is a really good scrummager behind me. In the Premiership the scrum can be a massive weapon.”
Louw, who weighs nearly 20st, has phenomenally strong legs which help his scrum power and the bad news for opponents is that he will become an even greater physical threat thanks to the strength and conditioning programme Quins have given their tighthead prop, who is also learning from Adam Jones, the club’s vastly experience scrum coach.
Louw would love to break into the Springbok squad for the Lions tour and is up against South African based tightheads including Frans Malherbe and Trevor Nyakane as well as Saracens’ Vincent Koch.
He added: “The Boks have really good props to choose from and we saw that in the World Cup and I am hoping we can do well in the series with the Lions.
“A lot of my strength is natural and both my grandfathers were big men but coming over here the boys gym differently. I am getting stronger and stronger in the gym because of the programme we have at Quins and I like it a lot. I hope to get even stronger but I know you cannot be too heavy.
“The scrums in the Premiership are a little longer and you are up against some of the best props in the world and it does take you time to adapt, particularly when we were not playing for eight months. Not being able to scrum every day during that time meant it took me some time to find my rhythm but with Adam helping me so much I got into the system pretty quickly.”
Louw, 26, arrived at Quins alongside former Springbok U20 teammate Andre Esterhuizen and that has made adjusting to a new country with the added complications of lockdowns easier to deal with.
Louw and his wife have been unable to see their families back in South Africa but he remains upbeat, saying: “Me and Andre arrived on the same day and the club made it so much easier for us to move.
“From the day I signed my contract the club has been fantastic for me and my wife. Having some other South Africans at the club is also a help as this is the longest I have been away from my family and this is the first time we have been abroad.”
With Quins in the Premiership top four the club is targeting the play-offs with their hi-tempo rugby, and Louw and his fellow frontrow internationals are helping deliver quality ball for their exciting backs to use.
“We can take a lot out of the narrow defeats to Bristol (35-33) and Exeter (21-20) this season and the way we picked ourselves up and have been playing makes me really excited about the end of the season and the chance of making the play-offs.
“Everyone wants to win the Premiership and we have a special group of guys with big leaders like Joe and Danny Care and we all heading in the right direction.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
The 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 commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
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