Bulls to honour Cornal Hendricks in final URC round-robin match with power 23

There will undoubtedly be a sombre atmosphere at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday when the Bulls take on the Dragons in the final regular season match of the United Rugby Championship.

Following the news of the passing of one of their stalwarts, former Springbok Cornal Hendricks, the Pretoria side will most likely play this game (3pm kick-off) in his memory, which should give them that extra motivation to entertain their crowd just like Hendricks did in his time.

Hendricks passed away on Wednesday from a suspected heart attack and was a much-loved figure in the blue of the Bulls during his time at the franchise.

Jake White, Bulls director of rugby, will announce his side on Friday morning. Even if they face the bottom side of the tournament, it is still expected to be a strong matchday 23.

They will be able to rest some of their frontline players should White decide to because they only need one point to secure the second place on the log. It will secure them a home pla-yoff until the semi-finals at least should they make it past the first round of knockout matches at the end of May.

The biggest talking point will likely be who will take over from the injured Johan Goosen at flyhalf. Scrumhalf Keagan Johannes has deputised brilliantly and should be in line to take over, especially after fronting the media early this week.

Veteran fullback Willie le Roux has also had a couple of runs in the number 10 jersey, but he is the attacking spark at fullback and could be a player to rather wrap in cotton wool for the playoffs.

The Bulls will have enough players to spark their attack even if Le Roux is not selected. Their power game with the forwards should also be too much to handle for the Dragons and that will likely create the platform that will allow the backline to stretch their legs on the attack.

If they can rack up the tries – the Stormers scored seven against the Welsh club last weekend – there will be some broad smiles around Loftus despite the emotional atmosphere.

It’s not a make-or-break match for them, but the home side will be eager to maintain the winning momentum they have built over the last handful of matches. A near-perfect performance will set them up nicely for the playoffs and they won’t be too worried about who their opponents will be.

Most importantly, though, the home team would want to greet Hendricks with a resounding victory that includes plenty of tries similar to what he has been involved in over his career at the Kraal.