'Excited' Bulls ready for Leinster showdown - Akker van der Merwe
Bulls hooker Akker van der Merwe has said that a feel-good factor is the driving factor for the side ahead of Saturday's BKT URC final meeting with Leinster in Croke Park.
The 33-year-old hooker rejoined the Pretorian franchise last season following a stint with the Sale Sharks and is getting set for his second URC final in consecutive seasons with Jake White's men.
Having soared up the table with six straight wins to round out the regular season, the Bulls are eager to go one step further, after losing out at home to the Glasgow Warriors in last June's final.
The powerful front-row forward noted their northern tour from back in April, where they defeated both Munster and Glasgow in their own back yard, as the catalyst in their season.
Tours are often an important time of the year for squad building, and it's where the Bulls feel their newfound excitement and awareness has come from.
"I think that is probably the one thing we've been driving since the tour of Munster and Glasgow, excitement all around," said Van der Merwe.
"To have a smile on your face when you get on the field and to enjoy everything you do. That has been a massive turnaround for us.
"The first thing is that there are no egos, and that makes it a lot easier. Everyone always talks about brotherhood and that bond, and I actually think that we have it here.
"It obviously took us a bit to get here but I think that the team as a whole are at a very good point."
Leinster will be the favourites to claim the title, following an impressive regular season where they won 16 of their 18 fixtures.
For Van der Merwe, whose brother Duhan will tour for the Lions alongside 12 Leinster players, the province are a complete side, with threats across the park.
He said: "They've got a pretty good spread of variation to attack from so it's going to be important for us to try and put them under pressure so it's not too easy for them to strike from lineouts.
"Obviously they have a fully Irish team... they've got great scrum and lineout play, so I think it's going to be the entire game basically [where Leinster pose a threat]."
Over 40,000 supporters are expected to pack into the Jones' Road arena for Saturday's decider, as the URC looks set to crown a fourth new champion since the tournament revamp back in 2021.
Leinster have fallen short in the semi-final stage in each of the past three seasons, including losses to the Bulls in 2022 and 2024.
The South African club have their own share of agony having suffered narrow, five-point losses in both of their final appearances.
Both sides will be keen to avenge their previous heartbreak and write themselves into the history books as one of club rugby's elites at GAA HQ.
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