Vodacom Bulls lock Reinhardt Ludwig says Munster will be a significant step up from Zebre this weekend, and that the team will have to be better after their opening-round win in Parma.
Ludwig was in top form and scored twice in the Vodacom Bulls’ 47-13 victory over Zebre on Saturday, a seven-try display that gave the South African sides a clean sweep in round one of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. The former head boy of Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool is regarded as a supreme athlete and one of the team’s rising stars. He was speaking at an online media conference on Monday.
The Vodacom Bulls are now in Limerick to face Munster on Saturday, and Ludwig expects a much tougher examination.
“We must be better,” said the 24-year-old. He described Munster as a good side, particularly in the tight phases, where the Vodacom Bulls scrum was inconsistent at times against Zebre.
Ludwig said conditions and atmosphere would add to the challenge. “It’s probably going to be rainy. The crowd is going to be in your ear. It’s a completely different challenge, and it’s about how you adapt and handle the pressure.”
This will be his second match against Munster, following the Vodacom Bulls’ 45-14 quarter-final win at Loftus Versfeld in May.
Ludwig is part of a young lock pairing with Ruan Vermaak, tasked with filling the void left by Springbok Ruan Nortje’s departure. He said the pair understand that the lineout is a collective effort.
“We have a [lineout] system, not a one-man show. I must know what [lock partner] Ruan Vermaak is doing and he must know what I’m doing. I know the system and how to play within it.”
On the challenge of following Nortje, he said: “Ruan left big boots to fill. But we’re young, all ambitious, we all want to be where he was. In the deep end is the best way to grow.”
Ludwig also spoke candidly about a difficult period last season, when he was regularly left out of the match-day 23. “It wasn’t always sunshine and roses. It hurts when you’re not picked on a Monday to play on a Saturday, and that feeling stuck with me. It motivated me through this pre-season.”
He said the turnaround came through honest conversations with the coaching staff. “There were some tough conversations sometimes. As a player you want honesty and you want to know where you stand. You never know when you’re going to get another opportunity, so I’m extremely grateful.”
Looking ahead, Ludwig said he is taking the season “week for week, challenge for challenge”.
Asked to name his toughest opponents to date, he pointed to Saracens and England lock Maro Itoje, plus, unsurprisingly, SA rival Eben Etzebeth.
