Cape Town — It may have been a tough decision for Marius Louw to leave the Sharks in Durban and join the Lions in Johannesburg, but the hard-running centre is already feeling at home in the City of Gold.
The 26-year-old spent about eight years in KwaZulu-Natal, having moved there from Bloemfontein after matriculating at Grey College.
But Louw never quite found a permanent spot in the No 12 jersey — after shifting from flank — in the black-and-white outfit, and he opted for a fresh new world at Ellis Park.
Off to a 💥 in the 2nd half.
Marius Louw dots down for the second #EmiratesLions try of the match.#LionsPride@Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/yzgSX91yG4
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) September 17, 2022
“Joining the Lions, it was a tough pre-season and there were a lot of learnings. Fitting in has been very easy — the coaches and players have been very welcoming. I’ve learnt a lot just in these last few weeks, and I am looking forward to the season,” Louw said from Swansea on Wednesday, where the Lions are preparing for Saturday’s second United Rugby Championship encounter against the Ospreys (8.35pm SA time kick-off).
“For me personally, I thought the opportunity at the Lions was really good. The coaching and the players … it’s a great franchise. They really wanted me to join the team, and it was a case of me wanting to come to a place where someone really wanted me.
“Coming here has proved it so far. The coaches and players have all backed each other, and we can go a long way.”
Known for putting his body on the line and not shying away from the rough stuff, Louw made an immediate impact for his new team by carrying strongly, cleaning out rucks with a vengeance and mowing down anyone in a blue jersey in last weekend’s 31-15 defeat to the Bulls.
He even topped off a busy performance with a well-taken try that saw the Lions draw level at 15-15 early in the second half.
But Ivan van Rooyen’s team weren’t able to add further points as Jake White’s unit scored 16 more without reply at Ellis Park.
There were enough positives, though, for the Lions to take from the opening round into the Ospreys clash. They have a dynamic backline that includes exciting halfbacks Morné van den Berg and Jordan Hendrikse, with Louw joined by promising youngster Henco van Wyk in midfield, combined with serious experience and pace in a back-three of Andries Coetzee, Edwill van der Merwe and Quan Horn.
“I don’t know if rustiness is the thing. I think the excitement was there, and it’s just about having outstanding basics. It’s something we are really focusing on this week — outstanding basics — and that was definitely a drawback for us last weekend,” Louw said.
“We are looking forward to fixing those errors this weekend.”
The Ospreys began their campaign with a 23-23 result with the Scarlets in Llanelli last week, and are filled with seasoned Welsh internationals such as Alun Wyn Jones, George North and Gareth Anscombe, which will make them a far tougher proposition for the Lions than they were last season.
On that occasion, they were missing their stars as it was during the Six Nations tournament, and the Johannesburg side ran out 45-15 victors at Ellis Park last March.
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