Bulls at full strength for Final
SPOTLIGHT: The Bulls are in great shape ahead of their return to Ireland next week, for the United Rugby Championship Final face-off against Leinster.
The tournament’s season-decider will take place at Dublin’s iconic Gaelic games stadium, Páirc an Chrócaigh, on Friday, June 19.
The Bulls returned to Pretoria, after a one-point (22-21) win over Glasgow Warriors in last week’s semifinal, without injuries or cards that could hamper their preparations.
“Our team will be at full strength for the Final,” Blue Bulls President Willem Strauss said.
A win at Croke Park will ensure the Class of 2026 become part of the elite groups in the Bulls’ 88 years of existence, who have won an international competition (Super Rugby/URC) and the Currie Cup.
Leinster, the defending champions, demolished the Bulls (32-7) at the same venue.
However, they will be a very different team.
Players like Springboks Gerhard Steenekamp, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw and Kurt-Lee Arendse did not feature in last year’s Final in Dublin.
Then there is ace World Cup winner Handre Pollard, who only joined the Bulls from Leicester Tigers at the start of the current season.
(Article continues below the Johan Ackermann interview …)
“We have great momentum, and eight consecutive wins, 11 from our last 12 matches,” Strauss added.
The Bulls, who returned to Pretoria after their semifinal win over Glasgow, will depart for Dublin on Monday.
“We’ve now reached the Final an incredible four times in five years, more than any other team.
“This team and coaches have been through a lot. They have shown unbelievable fighting spirit and the ability to come back from setbacks,” he said about the team that bounced back from seven consecutive losses in the first half of the season to reach the Final.
“It has been a very impressive second half of the season, with a massive impact from our bench.
“We used to fade out in our last 20 minutes more often than not, in previous seasons.”
Coach Johan Ackermann said he will sit down with some of the players who featured in previous finals to see what lessons can be learned from them.
“However, my personal experience and feeling is that you don’t change too much,” Ackermann said.
“You stick to what you are familiar with from a training and planning point of view.
“The boys will just need energy and 80 minutes of commitment and fight through the momentum swings.
@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com
* Picture credit: @BlueBullsRugby
