Francois Louw (born 15 June 1985) is a South African former professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player. A flanker, he played for , the Stormers and English club . He won 76 international caps for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and was part of the team that won the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

Early life

Louw was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and is the grandson of the former South African international Jan Pickard. He attended Bishops College in

and studied rugby at the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

Playing career

He represented the Stormers in Super Rugby, having made his debut during the 2008 season. He also played for in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

. Louw was part of the Stormers team that lost the 2010 Super 14 Final to the Bulls. On 12 July 2011 it was announced that Louw signed for Bath Rugby on a 3-year deal.

International

Following the Super 14 season, Louw made his debut for

against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

at the Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. He played the entire game as South Africa won 34–31. Louw was selected for South Africa's next match, against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

at his home ground,

Newlands Stadium The Newlands Stadium, referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons, is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all-seater venue. Various sports teams use the stadium as their hom ...

in Cape Town. Louw scored the last of five tries, helping South Africa to a 42–17 victory. After taking part in South Africa's victorious two-match series against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, including a try in the first Test, Louw made his Tri Nations debut in July 2010. It was the first time Louw experienced defeat as a Springbok, with New Zealand winning the game 32–12. He has become a mainstay in the Springbok side, becoming the first choice openside flank under the reign of Heyneke Meyer. He had the second most turnovers won at the 2015 Rugby World Cup with 13. He has also shown strong running and some skilful play. In 2013, against the All Blacks at Ellis Park, he made a strong run then an offload in the tackle to set up

Bryan Habana Bryan Gary Habana OIS (born 12 June 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player who initially played as an outside centre but later on, he shifted to the wing. He most recently played for Toulon in the French Top 14 compet ...

for a try. Louw was named in South Africa's squad for the

. South Africa won the tournament, defeating

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the final.

Notes

References

External links

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Bath rugby profileMyPlayers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louw, Francois 1985 births Living people South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players South African people of Dutch descent Stormers players Western Province (rugby union) players Bath Rugby players Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Cape Town Afrikaner people South African expatriate rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in England