The Bok axis the Bulls will bank on in URC Final
On June 28, 2014, a fresh-faced 20-year-old Handré Pollard made his Springbok debut against Scotland in Port Elizabeth.
Willie le Roux, four years his senior, was already playing in his 15th Test, as South Africa demolished the Scots 55-6.
Le Roux scored a try, and Pollard contributed 13 points (five conversions and a penalty).
They would go on and play many more internationals together, including winning back-to-back World Cups.
On Friday night, at Croke Park in Dublin, they will again combine in a crucial axis for a Bulls team hoping to upstage defending champions Leinster in the United Rugby Championship Final.
Le Roux, fronting up to the media ahead of the grand finale, said winning away from home was vital for the Bulls to turn the season around, after a seven-match losing streak (five in the URC), that saw them hover outside the top 10 and fears of not making the cut.
The 101-Test veteran said they can’t afford to gift Leinster the same start as last year’s Final, when the Irish province won 32-7, after racing into a 19-0 half-time lead (22-0 after 45 minutes).
“However, this is a new season, and we are excited about the opportunity on Friday,” he said.
“From where we were at the start of the season, we are very excited, having reached the Final.”
(WATCH as double World Cup winner Willie le Roux talks about his decade-long international association with Handré Pollard and it can benefit the Bulls in the URC Final against Leinster on Friday…..)
Le Roux, with the experience of 101 Tests and two World Cup Finals to his credit, said he will not change anything in the build-up and will stick with what he does before every game, despite the importance of Friday’s fixture.
“It is a massive game,” he said of the Croke Park face-off, adding: “We are all excited, but I will stay with what I do every week, be that the first game of the season or the last one.
“My routine is what puts me in the right mindset.”
With the experience of 400 first-class games, he knows that to stay focused in the ‘big moments’ is vital in a Final as massive as this.
“In a final, you might get one opportunity,” he said with the backdrop of three one-point World Cup play-off victories in 2023, adding: “If you don’t take it, you might lose the game.”
Turning to his on-field ‘partnership’ with Pollard, the outside back said the decade-long kinship was forged through many challenging and grievous battles in the Test arena.
“We know each other well,” he told Rugby365, adding: “We understand each other and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
“We know that when one does something, we back each other.
“We are each other’s eyes and help each other.
“Communication is the most important aspect [in such a relationship].”
@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com
