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Wilco Louw

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Wilco Louw
Wilco Louw
Full nameWilco Mario Louw
Date of birth (1994-07-20) 20 July 1994 (age 30)
Place of birthCeres, South Africa
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight126 kg (19 st 12 lb; 278 lb)
SchoolHTS Drostdy, Worcester
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Rugby union career
Position(s) Tighthead prop
Current team Vodacom Bulls
Youth career
2012 Boland Cavaliers
2013–2014 Blue Bulls
2015 Western Province
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015–19 Stormers 46 (30)
2015–19 Western Province 57 (20)
2019 Toulon 5 (0)
2020–2023 Harlequins ()
2023- Vodacom Bulls ()
Correct as of 2 December 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
– South Africa Schools 3 (0)
2014 South Africa Under-20 5 (0)
2017 South Africa 'A' 2 (0)
2017– South Africa 14 (0)
Correct as of 14 August 2021

Wilco Mario Louw (born 20 July 1994 in Ceres, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for the Vodacom Bulls in the United Rugby Championship, formerly of Harlequins in Premiership Rugby. His regular position is tighthead prop.

Career

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Youth

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In 2012, Louw got his first provincial representation when he was called up by Boland to represent them at the 2012 Craven Week competition in Port Elizabeth. Shortly after the competition, Louw was also named in the 2012 South African Schools squad. He played in three matches for them – against France,[1] Wales[2] and England,[3] helping South Africa to victories in all those matches.

After finishing school, Louw moved to Pretoria for the 2013 season to join the Blue Bulls. He made twelve appearances for the Blue Bulls U19 side during the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, helping them win twelve matches in a row in the pool stages. He scored a try in their semi-final match with Leopards U19 to help the Blue Bulls reach the final with a 37–21 victory.[4] He played off the bench in the final against the Golden Lions U19s, a match which the Blue Bulls won 35–23 to secure the championship.[5]

In 2014, Louw was included in the South Africa Under-20 squad that participated in the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship held in New Zealand.[6] He started their opening match against Scotland[7] before playing off the bench in a 33–24 victory against hosts and four-time winners New Zealand.[8] He once again started their final pool match, a 21–8 victory over Samoa as South Africa finished top of the group to set up a rematch with New Zealand in the semi-finals. Louw came on as a replacement in their semi-final to help South Africa secure their fourth consecutive victory over New Zealand at this level, winning 32–25.[9] He made his fifth appearance of the tournament in the final, but could not prevent South Africa finishing on the losing side this time, with England winning the championship for the second consecutive year with a 21–20 victory over South Africa.[10]

Louw returned to domestic action after the Junior World Championship, making five starts for the Blue Bulls U21s during the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship and scoring a try against the Border U21 team[11] as they reached the final of the competition and eventually winning the title by beating Western Province U21 in the final.[12]

Western Province / Stormers

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In October 2014, it was announced that Louw would return to the Western Cape by joining Western Province ahead of the 2015 season.[13] He was named in the wider training group of their Super Rugby side the Stormers,[14] and then included in their final squad for the season.[15] He was then named on the bench for their season-opening match against the Bulls.[16]

Harlequins

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On 13 February 2020 Louw's signing for the 2020–21 season was announced by English Premiership Rugby club Harlequins.[17] He started in the Premiership final and scored a try against Exeter on 26 June 2021 as Harlequins won the game 40-38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever.[18]

Vodacom Bulls

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In July 2023, Louw returned to Pretoria, having signed with the Vodacom Bulls for the United Rugby Championship 2023-2024 season. On the move, Louw said, “It is exciting to be going back to South Africa and to be reunited with the Vodacom Bulls, I had an unbelievable time at Harlequins with great memories and hopefully we can make some great memories in Pretoria too.” He has expressed hopes of helping bring a championship home to the Bulls: “My rugby career started at the Bulls and I think it’s every rugby player’s dream to win a few trophies in their career, so I am very keen to join the team and work with great players and coaches to make that dream our reality.”[19]

International

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Louw was called up to the Springboks for the 2017 Rugby Championship following Coenie Oosthuizen's broken arm. Louw made his debut for the Springboks off the bench in the final round of the tournament which was a 24–25 loss to New Zealand.

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–7 France". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 24–16 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 36–29 England". South African Rugby Union. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 37–21 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – MTN Golden Lions 23–35 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Junior Springboks named for JWC 2014". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 61–5 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 24–33 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 32–25 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 21–20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border U21 7–123 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 10–20 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  13. ^ "WP take another Bull to the Cape". SuperSport. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  14. ^ "DHL Stormers set sail for Hermanus". Stormers. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Team : The Stormers". Stormers. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  16. ^ "DHL Stormers choose for Loftus opener". Stormers. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  17. ^ "Wilco Louw: Harlequins sign South Africa international prop ahead of next season". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs 38-40 Harlequins - Louis Lynagh's late double clinches title". BBC. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Wilco Louw: Springboks prop to make move to Bulls after 'unbelievable time' with Harlequins". Planet Rugby. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
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