Handré Pollard has identified the Vodacom Bulls' capacity to recover from difficult positions as the defining trait that could deliver a maiden United Rugby Championship title when they meet Leinster at Croke Park on 19 June.
The Springbok fly-half told media on Thursday that the Bulls have repeatedly clawed their way back from the brink this season, most recently in last Saturday's semi-final at Murrayfield when they overturned an 18-point deficit to edge Glasgow Warriors 22-21. "We've come out of so many holes as a group this season, and then even though we were down 21-3 in the semifinal against the Glasgow Warriors, we looked at each other in the eye and said we can turn this around," Pollard said. "That's a great character to have in a squad. When it's going too well you don't necessarily always get the opportunity to build that character. If we need it again in the final, then we've been there before and we trust ourselves to get ourselves out of it again."
The Bulls' route to a fourth Grand Final in five seasons has been anything but smooth. A coaching change and early-season defeats tested the Pretoria franchise before clarity in playing style emerged in the closing rounds. Pollard acknowledged the toll of that journey. "This year we had to work really hard to get where we are. After that tough time in the season we got clarity in the way we wanted to play the game, and that has shown in the last few games of the season," he said. "A lot of the guys have been here before, and we've had some disappointments in finals. But it's a real positive I think. From where we came from at the start of the season to where we are is special, and we want to take that confidence into the final."
Discipline the key concern
Head coach Johan Ackermann, however, has flagged discipline as the area requiring immediate improvement. The Bulls played 20 minutes of the semi-final with 14 men after yellow cards to Pollard for a deliberate knock-on and Ruan Nortjé for illegally collapsing a maul. Glasgow capitalised fully, building that commanding lead before the Bulls rallied. Ackermann warned that such lapses cannot be repeated against a Leinster side that thrives on fast starts. "If you analyse Leinster, they probably win every game that they start fast and get a good lead. So we can't afford that ill-discipline, either at the start of the game or at the back-end," he said.
The Bulls have lost all three of their previous URC finals — to the Stormers in 2022, Glasgow Warriors in 2024, and Leinster themselves 32-7 last year. That record adds weight to Friday's encounter, but Pollard believes the scars of those defeats, combined with this season's hard-won progress, have equipped the squad for one more comeback. Whether the Bulls' character can withstand Leinster's precision at Croke Park will define not only the final but the arc of a campaign built on resilience.