Bulls braced for French scrum battle

03/04/2024 12:12

Tighthead prop Wilco Louw expects a bruising contest between two formidable front rows when the Vodacom Bulls and Lyon clash at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Bulls host their first playoff in the Champions Cup when they welcome Lyon to the Highveld. The Pretoria outfit must rebound from a heavy defeat by Leinster in Dublin, as well as exact revenge for a narrow loss in the group stages at Lyon.

Jake White's troops will fancy their chances with the French club languishing at the foot of the Top 14 standings, yet Louw acknowledges the physical threat posed by the visitors, especially in the set-piece encounters.

Speaking in a Bulls conference on Tuesday, the seasoned campaigner told reporters: "They're a French Top 14 side so they're very good in the set-pieces, a very good scrum and maul, and they have backs who can run well with the ball – a few monster centres.

"They'll want to play a typical French game, by scrumming and mauling well, so we'll have to be up for it."

Leading 14-12 at half time at the RDS Arena, the Bulls conceded five tries in the second 40 minutes as Leinster fought back to claim a bonus-point win in a top-of-the-table clash in the Vodacom URC.

"You have to give credit where credit is due and Leinster is a good side. We played well in the first half and our scrums and mauls were good," Louw said.

"We maybe just took the foot off the petrol for unknown reasons in the second half, but we definitely need to be up for [the challenge] for 80 minutes this weekend.

"Leinster put us under plenty of pressure at the breakdowns … if we can hold on to our ball at the breakdowns and focus on our scrums and mauls and get the ball to the backs it'll be a good weekend for us."

Louw was one of 16 Bulls in a group of 43 that assembled in Cape Town in early March for a Springbok in-person coaches' strategic session and two-day alignment camp.

The 14-Test scrum plough last featured for South Africa in 2021, and addressing his Bok chances, he explains, "It's every player's dream to play for your country but if you can play well for your union, and consistently every weekend and your time is right, then it'll happen.

"Right now I'm focused on the Bulls [but] it'll be a dream to play for the Boks again."

Photo: Facebook/Vodacom Bulls

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