Sitting at home in Cape Town, Rob Louw received a phone call last weekend telling him that Manchester was experiencing a heatwave. But by the time Louw, the manager of South Africa’s Sevens team at the Commonwealth Games, arrived on Monday, normal service had been resumed: it was coming down like stair-rods with thunder and lightning to boot.
But for Louw memories are made of this. The former Springbok and Western Province flanker played two-and-a-half seasons of rugby league in Wigan, 30km west of Manchester.
In his mind’s eye it probably rained for two-and-a-quarter of those years; this part of England, the boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire, is famous for its precipitation.
”When I left Wigan,” said Louw, ”I was offered a contract to play for one of two new Australian league sides, but I was 32 and I thought I’d had enough. It was time to go home and get some sunshine.”
On Tuesday the darling of Cape Town’s night clubs accompanied his youthful charges to a practice match against Samoa in Sale, the adopted home of another former Province stalwart, Charl Marais.
But having stopped the courtesy car to pick me up en route, his driver lost his place in the convoy and we arrived at the ground 10 minutes late, something that did not amuse South Africa’s coach Chester Williams.
Not that ”Chessie” was worried about the two of us, just that we were accompanied in the car by Luke Watson, Egon Seconds and Conrad Jantjes, all integral members of South Africa’s team. But tempers were quickly restored and as the rain drove in Louw was reminded of his days as a professional rugby player in the grim north-east of England.
”I was lucky when Ray Mordt and I played at Wigan that Gary Bailey and Bruce Grobelaar were just round the corner. Ray went to school with Bruce in Zimbabwe and he would get us tickets to watch Liverpool, Gary got us into Old Trafford and they would both come and watch us play whenever they got the chance.
”Ray and I are the only two banned South Africans left and it’s quite ironic that while we’ve never really been forgiven for going to league, Joe Lydon — who played wing/fullback with us at Wigan — is here at the Commonwealth Games as the coach of England’s Sevens team.”
England under Lydon are actually one of the favourites for the gold medal in Manchester. Lydon’s team won the Hong Kong Sevens earlier this year, still the most important trophy in the game, despite the existence of the IRB World Sevens league. England are captained by the out-of-favour 15-a-side England hooker Phil Greening and he and his team have been here for 10 days already, soaking up the unique atmosphere of a multi-sport event.
New Zealand are the current holders of the IRB Sevens Trophy and won several events on the circuit.
But the one that they really wanted, at home in Wellington, was snatched from them by South Africa in a tournament lit up by the dynamic running of Springbok rugby’s favourite impact player, Brent Russell.
Several of the South African team that won in Wellington are at the Games and while Russell is not among them, Jantjes, Seconds, Fabian Juries and a handful of others give this team a real chance of medal glory, and it could easily be gold.
Rob Louw said that his greatest disappointment as a league player was never getting to a Challenge Cup final at Wembley, but some of that regret could be assuaged if the team under his watchful eye should happen to go all the way at the fabulous new City of Manchester stadium.