Willie le Roux says “playing for one another” is at the heart of the Bulls’ success this season and the team cannot afford to be distracted by the crunch Vodacom URC final against Irish giants Leinster.
Having fallen short against the Stormers and Glasgow in previous deciders, the Bulls now face one of the toughest tests in club rugby against table-topping Leinster at the 82,000-capacity Croke Park on Saturday.
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Le Roux, the veteran Bok fullback, has played crucial game management and mentorship roles for the Bulls this season, and his advice to the younger players this week is to treat the final like any other game this season.
“Don’t put it on a pedestal and make it that much bigger,” the 35-year-old said on Wednesday. “Then you will go into your shell and won’t want to try stuff and run [the ball] from your own half.
“We got here by taking chances – if we see an opportunity, we take it – and that’s what you must do in these big games as well, whether you make a mistake or not.
“It’s about putting yourself in as many battles as possible,” he added. “And if you lose a battle, it’s about getting back up and putting yourself into another one, and having no doubts afterwards.
“We’ve enjoyed ourselves this season, playing for one another. It’s gotten us to the final and it’s about doing the same thing [on Saturday] that we’ve been doing the whole season. There’s no need to put additional pressure on ourselves – we’re playing for our brothers and for our friend that we lost.”
The death of former teammate Cornal Hendricks a month ago hit the Bulls hard, no more so than Le Roux who began his professional career with the charismatic winger at Boland.
“Retiring his [No 14] jersey this season, having [Canan] Moodie play in the No 24 jersey and the photos [of Hendricks] on our numbers, reminds us who we are playing for. I think everyone here knows our bigger purpose, so now it’s about going out there and doing it and not just talking about it.”
While Leinster are heavy favourites to win their first title of the URC era, and many have written off the Bulls despite their good record against the Irish giants, Le Roux believes Saturday’s clash will be close.
“Finals are decided by fine margins, whether it’s home or away, they come down to one moment, one mistake or one piece of individual brilliance. Everyone says it’s mission impossible, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
