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The veteran Bok and the young Englishman make an odd couple, but they have bonded over beers in Bath
Sam Underhill and Francis Louw make an odd couple, the 23-year-old Englishman who is still in the foothills of his rugby career hanging out with a veteran South African who is 11 years older and coming out the other side of his career at the ripe old age of 34.
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However, club-mates at Bath since Underhill’s 2017 move from the Ospreys, where he was a year shy of qualifying under residency to be eligible for Wales, they will be familiar faces when they pack down on opposite sides in next Saturday’s World Cup final.
They might not be at each other’s throats for long in Yokohama – 75-cap Louw is set to only come into the game as a replacement whereas 14-cap Underhill will be out there from the start. But the respect the South African has for his rival Englishman is utmost.
Reflecting on his first impressions of Underhill when the flanker arrived at Bath two years ago, Louw said: “Quiet guy, softly-spoken, loves a beer – I’ve drawn him for many of those. He has developed massively as a player. He has refined elements of his game that definitely came through in this past weekend’s game (against the All Blacks) – especially in defence.
“His ability to stop momentum in the tackle, and a presence at the breakdown with poaching and jackaling the ball, and just discovering what rugby is all about.
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“There are so many different ways to play the game, and being the young guy that he is, he is being exposed to so many different concepts, strategies, different styles of players around you, and he is adapting to that.
“He has a massive hunger to learn and grow as a player, which I think is one of the ultimate traits of a professional rugby player – that burning desire to better yourself continuously, and that he does possess. He is rightly rewarded to be selected for England, and to start in the seven shirt.”
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Louw’s respect for fellow back rows wasn’t limited to Underhill on Tuesday, the long-serving Bath player also paying tribute to the style of leadership Siya Kolisi has brought in recent times to the Springboks.
'If you're over the ball and have two blokes over 100 kilos flying into you off their feet, it can be pretty difficult to survive' https://t.co/2herbo61Ix
— liam heagney (@heagneyl) May 5, 2019
“Siya’s got a lot of weight on his shoulders in terms of the role as captain, with regards to the make-up of our country and our nation – where we’ve come from, where we are right now. It’s a role he’s grasped fully. I’ll never forget the first thing he did as captain was encourage those around him to support him and help him lead.
“Being self-aware, again, is a fantastic trait of a leader. Find out what your strengths and weaknesses are, and make sure you surround yourself with people who are wiser than you in areas, and you will succeed.
In anticipation of facing the same opposition in the same match that secured them the 2007 World Cup title this weekend, we look at where the Springboks stars of 12 years ago are today. #RWC2019 https://t.co/Ir3b2VsCOB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 29, 2019
“Siya is very aware of that, and he’s led with great example, with great courage. And he rallies the guys up when necessary. He’ll call on specific players to act on certain areas of the game and to take leadership and control there.
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“Ultimately, he surrounds himself with a mini-leadership group that really makes his job and his role a whole lot easier. But I think most importantly, at the end of the day, all that matters is that you lead by example in terms of your play, and I think he has been playing fantastic rugby.”
WATCH: Former England international Neil Back sits down with RugbyPass to reflect on his country’s 2003 World Cup final victory
Comments on RugbyPass
Wayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
1 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to comments