Croke Park made an impression on the Bulls. That’s quite the compliment when considering the iconic stadiums in which South African players are used to playing in, such as Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Ellis Park in Johannesburg and Kings Park in Durban.The Bulls will return to GAA headquarters on Friday week in a repeat of last season’s URC Grand Final, a game Leinster won 32-7. Handré Pollard didn’t play in that match, instead contesting the English Premiership final with the Leicester Tigers on the same afternoon. But this time he will be wearing the 10 jersey with the Bulls.When the double World Cup winner with the Springboks was asked what he knew about Croke Park, he repeated what his team-mates had told him about the Dublin venue.“The boys have said it’s one of the best pitches they’ve ever set foot on. They were amazed [by] how good the pitch was. I’m excited to go there and hopefully there’ll be a great crowd and a great vibe. It’ll just be a great spectacle.” He did add a little bit of a rider about the weather, but what could possibly go wrong on an Irish summer night. While Pollard didn’t play in last season’s final, he is well versed with Leinster and pointed to the fact that they are a multifaceted team. “They’ve got so many things that they do so well. I’d probably say that [Jamison] Gibson-Park’s kicking off nine is the best in the world. That’s a big factor.Handré Pollard prepares for a kick. Photograph: Ewan Bootman/Inpho “We know their set-piece, their lineout contesting is brilliant as well. And then, of course, they’ve got a very aggressive [defence] set with Jacques [Nienaber]. They’re very difficult [to play against] but when you get to this stage of the season, you can focus on the opposition and try and delve into them as much as you can.“But if you don’t do what you have to do well, it’s not going to matter at all. So, we’re really going to focus on ourselves this week, whilst looking at them, analysing them as much as we can, and using the extra week as well for that.”The 32-year-old outhalf smiled when asked for his thoughts on Leinster’s two outhalves, Sam Prendergast and Harry Byrne, his response the essence of diplomatic politeness. “I know the guys [in question] get quite a lot of criticism back in Ireland but they’re great players; each different. “Sam is, of course, a younger guy. He’s got that sort of swagger [about] him. He plays his game with so much confidence. Harry is a really, really solid, solid player. He’s been doing a great job. Whoever they pick, or whoever they decide to use within the game, it’s two great players.“And playing alongside, of course, Gibson-Park, they’re very, very dangerous. I’m not going to pin it down to one thing for each of them. It’s just two very good players, two guys I really respect and I’m going to look after them as much as I can.”A little closer to home, Pollard was asked about his untypically wayward placekicking in the 22-21 win over the Glasgow Warriors in Murrayfield last weekend. “I was terrible last weekend in terms of kicking. But you have those days and you’ve got to be able to put it aside and see it for what it is. Handré Pollard speaking after the Glasgow Warriors match. Photograph: Ewan Bootman/Inpho “I like to think I’ve maybe had more better days than bad days in terms of kicking into my career. I’ve been there before, as frustrating and disappointing as it was. I know what to do to reset. You just go back to your normal routine, your system that you know works for you. Small little technical tweaks, something I picked up [in the review], which I can fix pretty quickly. So, it’s nothing big.”Pollard conceded that he had seen the half-time pushing and shoving in the tunnel during Leinster’s semi-final win over the Stormers but put it down to the passion of the occasion. Perhaps a more pertinent and tangible legacy from that match is a point made by Stormers coach John Dobson afterwards that Leinster win matches in the first 20 minutes with their ability to score heavily.It hasn’t gone unnoticed down Pretoria way. But the Bulls can take heart for their resilience and ability to claw back deficits just as they did in their semi-final when clawing their way back to victory from 21-3 down.Pollard said: “No, no, no, we are aware of that. They [Leinster] always get off to a great start, and that’s testament to their preparation and their mindset going into a game. I think it’s something a lot of teams can learn from, ourselves as well.[ ‘We want to put on a proper show’: Leo Cullen ready for ‘physical’ Bulls showdownOpens in new window ]“Of course, we don’t want to be 21-3 behind like we were last week. It’s up to us to come out with the right intent and mindset and be accurate. I think that’s the main thing, being accurate those first 20 minutes.“This year we had to work hard to get where we are. Does that mean anything going into the final? Probably not. But we’re going to go out there and just do that again. If the cards don’t fall our way, then fine. That’s rugby. But we’ve worked very hard to get ourselves here and we’re very excited to have this opportunity.”