In any other game, this weekend’s matchup between Springbok tighthead behemoth Wilco Louw and English loosehead prop Ellis Genge would be worth the price of admission alone.
After all, England’s best prop - who Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus once referred to as having “dog” in him for his fight and fierce attitude to the game - is experiencing some of the best rugby of his life, and Bristol Bears, who head to Pretoria this weekend for their Investec Champions’ Cup game, hopefully have him in the touring squad so that the match up with the Bulls’ and Springboks' quiet destroyer can take place.
Louw didn’t have the dominance he wanted over the past two games for the Bulls, but that is by his own high standard, and for some reason, Griffon Colby penalised him in both games, much to the surprise of most pundits and to the astonishment at times of Louw himself.
On both occasions, Louw responded by dominating the next scrum against his opposition and forcing the penalty.
There are few Springbok supporters who don’t take note of Louw’s ability to demolish his opposition in the setpiece and the set-up against Genge is an intriguing one, especially as Bristol are topping the English Premiership at the moment and are two wins from two in the Champions Cup, marching to Pretoria to try and secure a top seeding for the playoffs in the Cup competition.
The Bulls are at a very different place in their spectrum, having lost six in a row at the moment, so Bristol are likely to arrive confident of taking a victory at Loftus Versfeld.
MASSIVE BRISTOL CHALLENGE
While the Bulls were a lot more competitive against the Stormers, the late loss dented their turnaround plan a bit and showed some chinks in their armour again. But the fact that the Bulls have placed their hope on the next fortnight in the Champions Cup as part of their plan to stop the rot makes the Bristol challenge a massive one for them.
And it has highlighted another issue for Ackermann’s management long term, although that won’t matter too much this weekend.
Part of what makes Louw so instrumental to any team he plays for is his ability to eke out scrum penalties and at the right time for his side.
On Saturday against the Stormers, he stayed on the field for 70 minutes, something that nowadays is almost unheard of for a tighthead prop. But while it underlines his value and the immense workload that Louw gets through, it also highlights the long-term problem for Ackermann’s Bulls.
The drop in intensity when replacement Khutha Mchunu came on was not only noticeable, but it is a real concern. Mchunu has struggled with his scrumming and was given a stint in Japan last season to give him a chance to improve on aspects in his game.
It is common knowledge that Louw will be leaving the Bulls for the Stormers at the end of the season, and right now the cupboard for the Bulls looks increasingly bare.
Their attempt in the off-season to lure Carlu Sadie to Pretoria failed. Mornay Smith is the backup to Louw and Francois Kloppers, who is still young, is injured at the moment. Mchunu has been tried, but if Louw goes, the Bulls look set to be very bare in the position next season.
For that reason, this weekend’s game has a scrum battle that is intense in two parts. Louw versus Genge will be a cracker, Bristol will want the points and the Bulls are hell-bent on turning their season around.
Add to that the question marks about who is Louw’s successor, and the routine Champions Cup weekend has a lot more going for it than 80 minutes of rugby.