2 days ago
Bulls hoping numbers add up as they look to commemorate former teammate in URC final
Jake White is hoping that the stars will align for his team to commemorate the passing of former Bulls player Cornal Hendricks when his side faces Leinster in the BKT URC decider at Croke Park.
The 12-time Springbok passed away from a heart attack last month aged just 37 and the Bulls soon retired his old No.14 jersey for the season in tribute.
This followed a minute's applause for the player 14 minutes into their game against the Dragons shortly after his death.
'He died on the 14th of May, and Saturday we play on the 14th of June,' said White, the Bulls coach. 'It's quite an ominous number. Funny enough, I was doing a bit of homework and I read that Bloody Sunday, 14 people died at Croke Park.
'It's quite amazing that the number 14 comes up. So there is a lot of nice memories of Cornal that we will use and the number 14. Hopefully it will be a fantastic day on the 14th of June for us as a club as well.' The numerical touchstones don't stop there.
Hendrick's first Test for South Africa was earned against Wales in Durban on June 14th, 2014, his son's birthday falls on the 14th of December and Hendricks and his wife Stephaney had been together for 14 years.
'There is a lot of relevance [to] the number 14 not being used this weekend,' White added. 'Sometimes you need that. You guys are from Ireland and look what Munster did in the time that they lost their coach [Anthony Foley] and how quickly the reason why just turned the way Munster became for that year.
'Stars are aligned. Hopefully we will use that in our favour.'
The Croke Park factor has been thoroughly researched in terms of the stadium's role in Irish history and in the national psyche. Tournament organisers hope that the stadium will be in and around half-full, or more, for a final that has all the makings of an epic.
The trip north of the equator is never easy but the Bulls have done what they could to mitigate the disadvantage with 95% of their party travelling business class via the London route rather than economy through the Middle East.
The fact they flew on Sunday, rather than midweek, will serve them equally well as it has given them the chance to find their feet earlier in the week in Dublin. Tuesday found them in St Mary's RFC for a weight's session.
All that helps. The sunshine, too.
Saturday seems to be promising heavy and persistent rain while the Bulls will have to make do without the superb No.8 Cameron Hanekom who was injured in last week's semi-final against the Sharks while Elrigh Louw and Gerhard Steenekamp are other absentees.
White wasn't making a meal of any of it. Leinster will be missing key players too and the former Bok World Cup-winning coach sees other similarities in the fact that these are two clubs who have to leave recent final disappointments behind them now.
Leinster's three successive Champions Cup agonies between 2022 and 2024 are all too familiar while the Bulls came second-best in URC deciders in 2022 and again last year. White dismisses all that as irrelevant, especially on his side.
'This group of players have probably far exceeded expectations of anybody in the last four years. To play three finals… Every change of our team has [resulted in it being] the youngest of most teams in the competition.
'Over and above that, the experience of international rugby, compared to any other team we've played. You talk about the Glasgows, the Edinburghs, the Leinsters, the Munsters, they're laden with international players.'
Clever stuff.
White had started to lay the groundwork for these mind games before they boarded their flight when he labelled his Bulls as underdogs and remarking at one point that they needed nothing less than a "prayer" against opposition of this stripe.
Franco Smith said Leinster are eight years ahead of everyone else in the URC after his Glasgow side was swept aside by the province in the other semi-final. His Bulls counterpart took that ball up and ran with it.
White had watched the 'Against The Head' programme on RTÉ on Monday night and he repeated here some of the stats mentioned about the men in blue: 12 British and Irish Lions, another dozen on Ireland's summer tour.
Plus Jordie Barrett, Rabah Slimani and RG Snyman. Oh, and the likes of Ross Byrne and Luke McGrath too.
'That's 30 guys in their squad. They probably have more Irish international caps than we have URC games under our belt. So that's the significant point. I don't know why Franco would say that.
'I don't know how he gets to eight years. But I will tell you something, there is no doubt that Leinster are the benchmark of what I do and how I prepare, and the benchmark of what's happened at the club.'
