Cape Town – In a great boon to their chances of future success, the Bulls pulled off a huge coup in announcing a contract extension for star No 8 Elrigh Louw on Tuesday.
The defending Currie Cup champions said that the 22-year-old Louw has signed a new deal that will keep him at the Bulls until 2027 at least.
Just a few years ago, the big loose forward was somewhat in the wilderness after the Southern Kings franchise collapsed.
Former SA Under-20 player Louw was hoping to make it to the top via the PRO Rugby tournament with the Kings, but was handed a lifeline by the Bulls, who snapped him up in 2020, and he made his way from Gqeberha to Pretoria.
And the rest is history.
Louw has quickly become a folk hero at Loftus Versfeld. He was first under the wing of Springbok stalwart Duane Vermeulen, and dove-tailed superbly in the loose trio with his captain at No 8 and Louw at blindside flank.
He made an immediate impression on Vermeulen at a training session when he “body-checked” the World Cup winner, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Louw was so inspired by Vermeulen that he told Bulls director of rugby Jake White that he wanted to turn into a No 8, and he has made the transition successfully from No 7 – to the point that he is regarded by many as a sure pick for the Springbok squad this year.
“We cannot stress the importance of reaching this landmark agreement with one of the best talents in South Africa at the moment,” White said on Tuesday.
“It is not often that, in this competitive era, we see players committing to long-term contracts, like Elrigh has done. This is important not only for the Bulls, where Elrigh is set to grow and become an integral part of the team, but also for South African rugby.
“We believe that Elrigh is a certain future Springbok, who can go on to play many Test matches for the Boks. It is also great to see such talent choosing to remain in South Africa, despite being sought after by some of the top clubs globally.”