His primary position was prop but he also played in the line-out for the Springboks at second row, flanker and number eight.
[1] Louw was born on the farm Watervlei near Wellington as the fifth child of ten brothers and five sisters.
[2] Louw made his debut for Western Province as a teenage schoolboy against the British Isles in 1924.
His Springbok debut was in 1928 against the visiting All Blacks, when he was selected as lock for the fourth test at the Crusaders Ground in Port Elizabeth.
Louw played 18 test matches for the Boks, 13 of which as loosehead prop and scored one try.