Louw looking forward to Loftus return against Scotland

The teams will line up in the second round of the Nations Championship at the field many refer to as ‘Fortress Loftus’ at 17h40 on Saturday, and after Scotland’s strong Six Nations campaign and a victory against Argentina last week, Louw was under no illusions about the test that awaited them.

“Loftus is a special place, not only for the Vodacom Bulls guys but for the Boks as well,” said Louw.

“It’s always amazing to play there, and I'm looking forward to seeing the Bulls fans and even the groundsmen at the stadium.”

Louw may be one of the more experienced players in the Bok forward pack, but he said there would be pressure on the entire team, as in every Test match in the Bok jersey.

“There's always pressure regardless of how many Test caps one has,” said Louw.

“I think it would be the same even if you ask a player like Eben (Etzebeth), who has over 140 caps. It’s about how you handle the pressure, so that it doesn’t get the better of you, and to focus on the task at hand.”

With the South African teams having met the Scottish players on several occasions in the Vodacom URC over the last few years, both in SA and abroad, Louw said it would spice up the clash.

“The Vodacom URC is incredible competition, and obviously, one knows their guys, but our focus is on ourselves and what we want to achieve on Saturday, whether it's in the scrums or any facet of the game,” he said.

“We’ve played against many of their players at Loftus Versfeld, and this is another opportunity to face some of them there.”

The Bok prop, who will pack down in the starting front row with Boan Venter and hooker Johan Grobbelaar, expected an epic battle up front: “Pieter (de Villiers – Scotland scrum coach) is a good coach, and they have proper boys in the front row and at the back.

“They have a physical pack, and one could see that from the tries they scored against Argentina. A lot of them were a result of the forwards and their direct play, so it's definitely going to be a tough one, but we are prepared for that, and we’ve tried to cover the bases we need to.”

He also looked forward to the challenge of possibly facing South African-born prop Pierre Schoeman: “He's a good friend and an incredible rugby player, so hopefully there can be a bit of chat afterwards. Obviously, it's a big game, but it’s always great playing against him.”

The Springboks wrapped up their main training block on Wednesday and will have Thursday off to rest, before wrapping up their on-field preparations for the clash with their captains’ run on Friday.