Cape Town — The tale of the tape couldn’t be closer: Elrigh Louw is 1.95m and 112kg against Duane Vermeulen’s 1.93m and 119kg.
Louw versus Vermeulen is set to be one of the highlights of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash between the Bulls and Ulster at Lotus Versfeld (2pm kickoff).
The two giant No 8s will go head-to-head in what will be a much anticipated showdown ahead of the Springbok international season.
Vermeulen is the old warhorse who has seen and done it all in rugby, and was the Man of the Match in the 2019 World Cup final against England in Yokohama.
Louw is the young upstart trying to force his way into the Bok squad after a commanding few years for the Bulls in the Currie Cup and now the URC.
Of course, a lot of what the 22-year-old Louw does on a rugby field was learnt from the master 35-year-old Vermeulen, when the latter was the Bulls captain from 2020-2021 before joining Ulster.
The two used to work together on the pitch as Louw operated at blindside flank and Vermeulen at No 8, with the youngster trying to impose himself early on with a “shoulder check” on the Bok star during training.
Vermeulen got his revenge with a hard tackle, but told Louw “I like your style”.
Will he like his style if Louw runs out at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday? The latter sat out of last week’s 55-20 victory over the Dragons after contracting Covid-19, but Bulls coach Jake White was confident that Louw would be ready for the Ulster clash, especially as he was asymptomatic.
White will announce his team tomorrow, and Louw will be keen to make an impression against Vermeulen. The Boks take on Wales in a three-Test series in July, and Louw and Stormers No 8 Evan Roos are two of the new generation itching to be part of the national set-up.
Roos acquitted himself well against Vermeulen in the Stormers’ 23-20 win over Ulster last week, and put in a big tackle on his opposite number too.
That performance is a marker for Louw now, and he would want to make an even bigger impact against Vermeulen.
It will be a different game in many respects, with the faster Loftus Versfeld pitch and warm weather conditions (28 degrees Celcius) likely to result in a higher tempo than the Cape Town Stadium encounter.
Altitude will be a major challenge for Ulster to deal with, and with the Bulls wanting to push the envelope with a ball-in-hand, multi-phase attacking style, they will want to increase the speed of the match as much as possible.
That could suit Louw, who will look to mix up his abrasive style and trying to run over defenders with a touch of subtle nuances in hitting a gap and offloading in the tackle.
Vermeulen doesn’t carry the ball as much as he used to, but he scans the field and waits to pounce at the right moments at the breakdown especially. He is a commanding presence in the lineouts and mauls as well, and while he didn’t particularly seek out Roos in Cape Town, it will be interesting to see whether he gets an early shot in on Louw.
So, who will rule a hopefully packed Loftus Versfeld?
IOL Sport