Bulls' behemoth Elrigh Louw previews massive URC derby against Sharks

By SABC Sport
19th December 2024

Springbok backrower Elrigh Louw believes his Bulls teammates require little motivation ahead of their highly anticipated United Rugby Championship derby against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.

The United Rugby Championship has brought December rugby to the Republic and local derbies don't come much bigger than Sharks v Bulls. Both sides will be hurting after their Champions Cup losses last weekend, but a win over an old foe will go a long way to erase those memories.

Speaking to Rugby 365 ahead of the clash, Louw revealed that Bulls boss Jake White doesn't need to say much to push his charges this week.

"South African derbies are always a massive occasion, and there's a lot of pressure on these derbies for some reason," said the 25-year-old.

"I think the guys know what has to be done, I think for ourselves we need to put up a good performance this weekend before we go into our break, so I don't think Jake needs to say a lot.

"It is important psychologically to get a win before we get off and start the new year so we're taking this game quite seriously, I don't think there's a lot of motivation needed."

There'll be Boks aplenty on the Kings Park turf and Louw is all too aware of his green and gold mates on the other side.

"I think when you're between the two lines the only friends you have is the friends that are on your team," he added.

"Obviously we've got a lot of respect for them but I think from their side as well, you can't be friends whilst a match is underway."

Louw is expecting the Sharks to thrive if the game gets too loose.

"I think they're very skilful and talented players from No.1 to No.15, I think they love it when the game gets a bit loose so we expect them to want some turnovers," he said.

"I think we can expect them to kick a lot, a lot of contestable kicks off No.9 and obviously their set-piece is very dominant with the players they have."