diff --git a/gz_ros2_control/src/gz_ros2_control_plugin.cpp b/gz_ros2_control/src/gz_ros2_control_plugin.cpp
index c1c8fb03..9ddb6bed 100644
--- a/gz_ros2_control/src/gz_ros2_control_plugin.cpp
+++ b/gz_ros2_control/src/gz_ros2_control_plugin.cpp
@@ -400,6 +400,11 @@ void GazeboSimROS2ControlPlugin::Configure(
   std::unique_ptr<hardware_interface::ResourceManager> resource_manager_ =
     std::make_unique<hardware_interface::ResourceManager>();
 
+  try {
+    resource_manager_->load_urdf(urdf_string, false, false);
+  } catch (...) {
+    RCLCPP_ERROR(node_->get_logger(), "Error initializing URDF to resource manager!");
+  }
   try {
     this->dataPtr->robot_hw_sim_loader_.reset(
       new pluginlib::ClassLoader<gz_ros2_control::GazeboSimSystemInterface>(