At face value, Virgil van Dijk and Wilco Louw have nothing in common.
One plays soccer for Liverpool in the Premier League, and the other plays rugby for the Vodacom Bulls in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (VURC).
One has never been seen in public without his trademark man-bun, while the other always has a number two haircut so he never has to think about his hair.
One is seen as the focal point of his team, while the other’s best work is done away from the spotlight in the scrum.
And while both answer to the description of elite athlete, they are built so differently that they could well be different species.
If there are similarities, it would be the age-old relationship between Afrikaans and Dutch. Well, that and the immeasurable impact they’ve had since signing for their respective teams.
Van Dijk joining Liverpool in 2018 was the catalyst they needed to win their first league title in 30 years, while Louw – all 1.85m and 144kg of him – has been the missing (big) piece of the puzzle for the Vodacom Bulls consistently challenging for higher honours.
In transforming the Tshwane side’s scrum from dependable to the most destructive in the VURC, the big tight-head prop has had something of a Van Dijk effect on the side based in the capital.
Since his arrival two years ago, the Vodacom Bulls – led by a powerful scrum – have made one final and are again in the hunt for this year’s VURC decider.
And Such has the magnitude of his impact been that he – with teammate and number eight Cameron Hanekom – is one of the three nominees for the VURC Player of the Year award. Hanekom was named the 2024/25 Next-Gen winner by the tournament ahead of the semifinals.
For a tighthead prop to be singled out like that is unprecedented because their best work on the field – as pivotal as it is – is often unseen or misunderstood by the public.
Asked what it meant for him, Louw sought to spread the honour around.
“It’s a massive honour being nominated for player of the season,” he said. “But rugby is a team sport and without the rest of the team, things like that would never be able to happen.
“It’s a pack of forwards that scrum, guys who clean after you carry… it’s a team and not individual effort.
“But it is a massive honour.”
Vodacom Bulls’ director of rugby Jake White was a little more effusive about the nomination than his front rower was: “It’s remarkable to have Wilco and Cammy nominated, they are getting recognition from the sport which they continue to give everything to.
“It’s amazing to see someone like Wilco being shortlisted. It’s something that is very rare, to see a prop being given the spotlight, especially someone like him, who just goes about his job – a man of few words.
“He’s a wonderful person off the field… he’s almost among those hidden figures of the squad, who are so instrumental to our work do not get the praise that is probably deserved.”
It’s not only the VURC that has noticed Louw’s impact; opposition coaches like the Lions’ scrum coach, Julian Redelinghuys, are keenly aware of his influence.
“All of us know that the tighthead is the most important guy in the scrum because he gets your alignment right,” Redelinghuys explained.
“Wilco was the catalyst for getting the Bulls scrum to improve, and then the scrum just kept improving and improving.”
When he came back to South Africa from Harlequins, Louw came back for two things: to regain his place in the Springbok team and to win titles with the Bulls.
He achieved the first by touring Europe with the Boks. Now for the second part…