World Cup hero Willie le Roux 'thrilled' to begin new journey with Bulls

The two-time World Cup winner, now 34, would be forgiven for starting to wind down his career at this stage in his rugby journey, but it's clear he has not made the move to Pretoria so that he can start easing into retirement.

Le Roux signed on the dotted line for Jake White's side way back in July of this year but first had to conclude his contract with Toyota Verblitz in Japan before joining the Springboks in France.

Now Le Roux is refreshed and ready to go after joining up with his Bulls teammates earlier this week, having had a just under a month off to celebrate and unwind following South Africa's fourth World Cup triumph in France.

"Thrilled to kick off my Bulls journey! Week one of training in the books, and the excitement is real," the Springbok star said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Eager to bring my best to the team, both on and off the field," he added, along with a series of photographs of him in training with his fellow Bulls players.

The Bulls aren't just being boosted by the return of Le Roux, however. Fellow World Cup winners Marco van Staden, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie have also rejoined the team in what is sure to provide a massive boost to their fortunes.

Bulls backline star Stedman Gans summed up the mood of the other players in welcoming back their Bok stars, as he revealed Le Roux hadn't lost any of his trademark pace and guile.

"We are very happy to have them back," Gans said. "They bring heaps of experience and excitement. I think a few of them could be involved this weekend as well. It just builds the confidence of the team to have that caliber of players back with us.

"Willie has been running the fastest at training this week," he quipped. "The guys coming back from the tour are still feeling a bit of the flight home. Willie has been here in SA, so he's fresh and he's been outpacing us."

All four of the Bulls' Springbok stars will be in line to face Connacht in the URC on Saturday.

The Bulls team will be announced on Friday.

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