Veteran back Willie le Roux says that the Bulls are playing for a ‘bigger purpose’ when they tackle Leinster in the United Rugby Championship final at Croke Park in Dublin.

The Bulls charged into the final after play-off victories over Edinburgh and the Sharks after finishing second overall in the regular season.

It is the third URC final that the Pretoria-based franchise will feature in after falling short to the Stormers in the inaugural season and Glasgow Warriors last year.

Bulls’ bigger purpose

However, Le Roux says that isn’t the main driving motivating factor for the side to clinch the title as they are playing for one another and their fallen former teammate Cornal Hendricks.

Former Springboks back Hendricks sadly passed away on May 15 at the age of 37. The Bulls took the decision to retire the number 14 jersey for the remainder of the season as a tribute to the larger-than-life character.

“We are enjoying ourselves this season and playing for one another, and that has gotten us to the final,” Le Roux said.

“There is no need to put any added pressure on us.

“We go out there, we are playing for our brothers, our friend that we have lost. We have one thing to do and that’s all we are focusing on.

“It will be a huge battle on Saturday and everyone is looking forward to it.”

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Le Roux hailed the impact Hendricks had on the club and urged his teammates not to forget what they are playing for when they tackle Leinster at the famous GAA stadium.

“It isn’t something that you’d expect to happen (Hendricks’ sudden passing),” the veteran Springbok added.

“The Bulls decided to retire the number 14 jersey and Canan Moodie has been wearing the 24 jersey and we have the photos of him at the back of our jerseys – it’s just a reminder about how big of an influence he had on the Bulls every time we put on the jersey.

“The positive attitude he always had, he literally lit up a room when he walked into it and he was one of the funniest teammates that you could ever have.

“The whole team knows that we have a bigger purpose here and who we are doing it for, so now it’s just about going out there and doing it instead of just talking about it.”

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Play-off pressure

Le Roux has won two Rugby World Cups with the Springboks, as well as a British and Irish Lions series, and has featured in a plethora of play-off games during his club career too.

His advice to his younger teammates this weekend is not go into their shells in the crunch fixture and take urges them to take risks when necessary.

“It’s the same as playing the first game of the season,” he said.

“We must put this game on a pedestal and make it even bigger and you go into your shell and you don’t want to try stuff and run from your own half.

“That’s not what got us here, we got here through taking chances, we saw opportunities and took them and that’s what we must do.

“Whether we take those chances or not, it’s about putting yourself out there and into battles that you might lose but you might win too and have no doubts afterwards.”

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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/willie-le-roux-bulls-playing-for-a-bigger-purpose-in-the-urc-final-and-are-motivated-by-fallen-springbok-cornal-hendricks