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Francois Louw

Francois Louw (born 15 June 1985) is a South African former professional rugby union player. A flanker, he played for Western Province, the Stormers and English club Bath. He won 76 international caps for South Africa, and was part of the team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.


Francois Louw

Francois Louw (born 15 June 1985) is a South African former professional rugby union player. A flanker, he played for Western Province, the Stormers and English club Bath. He won 76 international caps for South Africa, and was part of the team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Francois Louw (born 15 June 1985) is a South African former professional rugby union player. A flanker, he played for Western Province, the Stormers and English club Bath. He won 76 international caps for South Africa, and was part of the team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Louw was born in Cape Town and is the grandson of the former South African international Jan Pickard. He attended Bishops College in Cape Town and studied rugby at the University of Stellenbosch.

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

Following the Super 14 season, Louw made his debut for South Africa against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He played the entire game as South Africa won 34–31. Louw was selected for South Africa's next match, against France at his home ground, Newlands Stadium 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, 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 for a try.

Louw was named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. South Africa won the tournament, defeating England in the final.

As of 23 November 2025

AgainstPWDLTriPts%Won
Argentina108020080
Australia125161541.67
Canada110000100
England220000100
Fiji110000100
France440015100
Ireland53020060
Italy5500210100
Japan32011566.67
Namibia220015100
New Zealand171115005.88
Samoa2200210100
Scotland440000100
United States1100210100
Wales76010085.71
Total7647227105061.84

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored

TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1FranceCape Town, South AfricaNewlands Stadium2010 June rugby union tests12 June 2010Win42–17
2ItalyWitbank, South AfricaWitbank Stadium2010 Italy tour of South Africa19 June 2010Win29–13
3AustraliaPretoria, South AfricaLoftus Versfeld Stadium2012 Rugby Championship29 September 2012Win31–8
4SamoaPretoria, South AfricaLoftus Versfeld Stadium2013 South African Quadrangular Tournament22 June 2013Win56–23
5
6JapanBrighton, EnglandFalmer Stadium2015 Rugby World Cup19 September 2015Loss32–34
7United StatesLondon, EnglandLondon Stadium2015 Rugby World Cup Pool B7 October 2015Win64–0
8
9ItalyPadua, ItalyStadio Euganeo2017 end-of-year test25 November 2017Win6–35
10NamibiaToyota, JapanToyota Stadium2019 Rugby World Cup28 September 2019Win57–3
  • Francois Louw at Springboks.rugby
  • Bath rugby profile
  • MyPlayers profile
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This article is sourced from Wikipedia and is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francois_Louw

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