Marcell Coetzee can’t wait to lead the Vodacom Bulls in the European Champions Cup, saying “it’s like playing international rugby every weekend”.
The 30-Test Springbok, who spent five seasons at Ulster, believes the Vodacom United Rugby Championship will also equip the SA teams for the challenges of the premier European club competition.
By clinching a place in the URC playoffs, the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks have secured a place in the Champions Cup for the 2022-23 season.
“It is a very unique and special tournament,” Coetzee said. “It has a great history behind it – it’s the top French teams, the top English teams, the Irish as well. There is an abundance of teams that you can measure yourself against as a player and as a team.
“[The Bulls] want to be competitive on all fronts, and we will target [the Champions Cup] when the time comes. There is a lot of rugby to be played before we get there.
“When I was at Ulster and we played in it, it was such a great tournament. It’s like playing international rugby every weekend … I think we as South Africans are going to embrace it and love it.”
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Travelling to competing in Europe at the start of the URC was a shock to the system for the SA franchises, but Coetzee says it has prepared them for what lies ahead.
“Hopefully, it doesn’t take too long to adapt to [the Champions Cup] as it did for the URC,” the Bulls skipper said.
“We will brief the youngsters that this is where you become a man against top sides like Toulouse, Toulon, world-class players. That is where you want to play your rugby at the end of the day.
“You want to measure yourself every weekend against the best and that is the best that Europe has to offer. They [the European sides] are also going to get a nice bite of the cherry [playing in SA].
“It is going to be a great format and it is going to pull all the fans together. I think you will see a lot of European fans coming to South Africa and they will enjoy and embrace our culture.”
