Rob Louw

His ancestor Jan Pieterz Louw (1628–91) moved in 1658 from Caspel ter Maere in the Netherlands to the way-station at the Cape of Good Hope that the Dutch East India Company had established in 1652 (present-day Cape Town).

His grandfather, Matthys Michiel Louw (b. 1855), was a nurse at the leper colony established in 1845 on Robben Island, before its transition to a prison.

Rob's father, Matthew Michael (Matt) Louw, was born on the island in 1922, and served in the South African Air Force's 30 Squadron in Cairo during World War II.

Matt was stationed in Italy for a while, as well as at the military installation on Robben Island in the 1940s, as a radio telegraphist.

As a young man Matt had played rugby until a knee injury in 1954 ended his playing career.

Due to his love of the game, Matt became a referee, a role in which he continued until he was in his 70s.

Louw received his secondary education at Wynberg Boys' High School and his tertiary education at Stellenbosch University.

The Springbok fast bowler Garth Le Roux was one of his school mates. Louw joined the South African Navy, where he was Sportsman of the Year for two consecutive years.

Robert James Louw (born 26 March 1955) is a South African rugby footballer who represented South Africa 19 times in international test rugby union.

He also played in the Western Province teams that won the Currie Cup five consecutive times.

South African rugby chief Danie Craven rated Louw as "one of the best Springboks ever to represent South Africa", "fast enough to play among the backs", and a "superb ambassador for South Africa" due to "his friendly manner and attractive personality".

Rob Louw was born in Wynberg, Cape Town on 26 March 1955 to one of the oldest families of Western descent in South Africa.

He has two brothers, Mark and Michael.

Louw gained provincial selection to Western Province's 1972–1973 school teams for Craven Week.

In 1975 he was selected for a South African under-21 team that included Gysie Pienaar, Divan Serfontein, and Schalk Burger Sr.

As a student he regularly represented his university, which has the most rugby teams of any club in South Africa.

Louw played 81 times for Western Province's senior team from 1978 to 1985, appearing in six Currie Cup Finals winning three.

Louw was nominated as South African Rugby Player of the Year in 1979 and in 1984.

At the 1979 Toyota annual national club rugby tournament, Louw scored five tries in Maties' game against Pukke, who lost 9-97.

The Stellenbosch team set several other records in this 1979 encounter: most points in a match, most tries in a game (16), and the largest win margin.

They not only won the 1979 tournament, but set records for most tries in the tournament (26) and most points in the competition (165).

Stellenbosch beat Tukkies 27–11 in the final to emerge overall champions.

Louw made his test début at the New Wanderers Ground in Johannesburg against a South American team on 26 April 1980.

Captained by Morné du Plessis, the South Africans beat their opponents by 24-9 before a crowd of 34,000.

Louw had played in 28 Springbok matches, of which 19 were tests; the most notable were probably the 1980 series in South Africa against the British and Irish Lions, and the 1981 tour to New Zealand and the USA.

Louw was selected for all four of South Africa's tests against the touring British and Irish Lions, and scored in each of the first two matches.

His first test try came on 31 May at Newlands Stadium, his home ground.

Gysie Pienaar had chipped and gathered the ball for a storming run down the right-side of the field before passing to Louw on his inside.

Louw evaded a hapless John Carleton with an inside swerve, and scored from 25 metres out, despite the attempts of Lions' wing Mike Slemen.

He drove for the try-line with full-back Rodney O'Donnell on his back for the last six metres, and scored before an ecstatic crowd of 40,000.

During Province's centenary year celebrations in 1983 he played for his home team on 31 May against a Rest of South Africa team.

At the time his home club was given as Defence.

He scored a try in Province's 1984 Currie Cup Final victory of 19–9 over Natal.

Appropriately enough, he finished his test career just over four years later with a match on 27 October 1984 against South America and Spain at Cape Town.

The increasing pressure from internal and international opposition to apartheid had rung the death knell for international competition by South Africa's sports teams.

By 1990 Louw's feat still stood as the record for most tries scored by a player during the tournament.

In the second test match at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 14 June, Louw scored in the 12th minute of the game.

Wing Gerrie Germishuys had intercepted a cross-field kick by the Lions' Andy Irvine and sprinted down the left-side of the field, wrong-footing a retreating John Carleton with an outside-inside swerve.

Germishuys passed to Louw, who gave the ball to Willie du Plessis upon being tackled himself.

Louw jumped up and ran himself into position on Du Plessis' inside to take his second pass.