SAM UNDERHILL’S drinking partner Francois Louw believes the England star is playing champagne rugby ahead of the World Cup final.
South Africa star Louw is Underhill’s beer buddy back home in Bath.
So the 75-cap flanker is the perfect man to help the Springboks deal with England’s 23-year-old sensation, whose bone-crunching hits have lit up the tournament in Japan.
Louw, 34, said: “Sam’s a quiet guy, softly-spoken, loves a beer — and I’ve drawn him for many of those!
“He’s developed massively as a player. He has refined elements of his game that definitely came through in this past weekend’s game — especially in defence.
“His ability to stop momentum in the tackle, a presence at the breakdown with poaching and jackaling the ball, and just discovering what rugby is all about.
“There are so many different ways to play the game and being the young guy that he is, he is being exposed to so many different concepts, strategies, different styles of players around you, and he is adapting to that.
“He has a massive hunger to learn and grow as a player, which I think is one of the ultimate traits of professional rugby — that burning desire to better yourself continuously, and that he does possess.
“He is rightly rewarded to be selected to start in the seven shirt.
“It is going to be an immense battle and we are at the final stage of the ultimate competition in our sport. Both groups of players are going to have to dig really deep and front up.
“There are a few of my Bath team-mates in the England set-up, with Sam, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Cokanasiga and Ruaridh McConnochie.
“Whatever happens, we will have a good time on the field but there is no doubt that all of us will be fighting for glory this weekend.”
Four of the Springboks’ squad play in the Premiership, while lock Lood de Jager is on his way to Sale after the tournament and back Willie le Roux was previously at Wasps.
Saturday’s finalists faced off at Twickenham in the autumn and before that, in three Tests during the 2018 series in South Africa — so they know each other well.
Scrum-half Faf de Klerk, a club-mate of Tom Curry’s at Sale, said: “We know there are going to be a lot of Sarries guys there.
“And Tom has been amazing for England this year. I don’t think he has missed one minute. He’s always willing to work hard and always up there with most of the stats.
“I know him pretty well and I have stuff that I can share with the group. So that’s always a positive.
“The England boys have played a lot, are 21 or 22, so they still have a lot of spunk in them, and are always ready to go and up for it.
“But we will see how it goes. We’ve got a well-rested pack, I feel, because the guys have had split game-time.
“Our boys will be up for it and we will see at the end of the game how they look and how they feel. Hopefully we can exploit that with a bit of tempo, with our ‘Bomb Squad’ coming off the bench.”
While the praise for Underhill and Curry from their fellow players was high, it was stratospheric from their coach John Mitchell.
He added: “Well, they’ve got rocks and boulders (points to his shoulders).
“There’s a lot of McCaw and a lot of Pocock in them, but they’re quicker. But the game has evolved as well.
“A few years back, to go from seven to six would have been a difficult adjustment, but Tom Curry has really developed his set-piece skills, working with one of the best – Steve Borthwick.
“A few years ago, with the mind-set of another openside flanker, he would have probably turned it down as being too challenging, I think.
“Having played in the back-row and coached a lot of fine back-rowers in the world at a particular time. To be associated with their development and then, this crew, you get a bit of a feel of who is outstanding and who isn’t.
“It’s not just about the individual, it’s about creating the right mix and making sure you’ve got the right back-rower coming on as well.
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“They’re a good group who complement each other well. You’ve got carry, they all enjoy tackling and they all enjoy poaching as well.
“And they’ve got to know each other a lot better as well and while they have individual roles to fulfil, they became more aware of working together as a collective; as a combination.
“That’s the biggest challenge as a back row because they all come with a narrow way of thinking because they love hunting the ball. They’ve still got so much more growth in them as well and at a young age, they have the ability to be world-class.”
