Vodacom Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee accentuates the positive in cultish. No matter where he plays, he is popular and the way he plays is fashionable.
Coetzee played for the Springboks as a 21-year-old. He was outstanding for the Cell C Sharks in his early years as a professional, even better for Ulster and he has led the Bulls with aplomb since returning to South Africa.
Bulls president Willem Strauss, on Twitter, posted the following: “In June 2010 Marcell Coetzee (19) was playing club rugby for Durban Collegians U20s. He had not played Craven Week [the interprovincial SA Schools competition], he was from a non-traditional rugby school and he had no professional contract. In May 2012, he played his first Test for the Springboks, aged 21!! If ever I needed inspiration to continue our club, youth, under 20 etc. pathway programs!”
Coetzee has been a revelation at the Bulls because he did not return to SA to play out his career. He came back to make a statement, and it is one that coach Jake White has always believed should end in a national recall.
That it hasn’t just yet is not a deterrent for Coetzee, who may divide his time next season between the Bulls and Japanese club rugby. White, the 2007 Springbok World Cup-winning coach, is a disciple of Coetzee’s.
“He was outstanding all season,’ said White. “I’ve consistently reinforced the message that his time will come again for the Springboks. I’ve told him to keep on being himself, playing the way he does because the way he plays means he is always knocking on the door of the national selectors.
“He is too good a player to ignore. I was very surprised he was not in the Springboks alignment squad. All he can do is keep on playing as well as he is doing. I am just glad he does it for us [Bulls] every weekend.”
Coetzee, who played 106 matches for the Sharks in all competitions and 57 matches for Ulster, said: “I played for Ulster for five years and I’ve seen what it does for a team and how better you get as a player, how you develop new techniques. Now, as South African teams, we have the privilege of playing in the URC against Welsh, Scottish, Irish and Italian teams, whose players are right up there in physicality and their unique side they bring to the game.
“The new URC tournament format is good for South African teams, especially because it is travel friendly and the players are enjoying it because of the cultural variety.”
Given the South African showdown, there won’t be much of a cultural shift in Pretoria on Saturday and there will be a familiarity for Coetzee as he again does battle with the jersey he first wore as a professional player. But, for Coetzee, there will be no sentiment and his only loyalty is to the jersey he wears on the day.
White, for one, is happy that it is Coetzee who leads out the Bulls and not Coetzee, who fronts as captain of the opposition. “You want him in your team and we are fortunate on Saturday that he is with us and not against us.”
ROAD TO THE PLAYOFFS: BULLS (4TH)
SEASON SNAPSHOT
White’s Bulls had an awful start to the league. They fronted Leinster in Dublin first up and took a pounding. It immediately asked questions of their Currie Cup success, as incumbent champions, and the doomsday prophets came out in force.
White was pragmatic in his response. He acknowledged Leinster, applauded the quality of their game and told SA media that his players now knew what was needed to secure a playoff spot and also what the standard was to win the league.
White’s men would suffer more despair in the first month on tour, and while they won against Cardiff after a fabulous last 40 minutes, they were always behind the black ball in the league.
There is a confidence about these players that isn’t inflated because of home support because for so much of the league Covid-19 restrictions ensured there was no stadium crowd attendance.
Coetzee spoke of winning at home and White spoke of a winning habit and this is exactly what happened once they started hosting teams. Many visitors got smashed at Loftus Versfeld as the hosts combined attitude with the altitude factor to post some huge scores.
The Bulls were raging and Coetzee and White were beaming.
There were stumbles, most notably losing to southern rivals the DHL Stormers in Pretoria and Cape Town, but even when they lost 19-17 in Cape Town, White was bullish in declaring that his boys would be in the final eight and that they would be contenders for a home playoff.
White’s charges delivered, on the promise of a playoff and a home quarter-final, and they lost only one of their past nine URC matches. They are unbeaten since 9 April.
STAR PERFORMER
Madosh Tambwe has been electric on the wing. He is poetry in motion on attack, his defence is sound and his appreciation of field position cannot be coached.
Tambwe adds buzz to any stadium audience and whenever he gets the ball there is an expectation of the impossible. The only time you hear a sigh of disappointment is when he passes the ball.
He is one of those players who commands presence and scores tries or creates try-scoring opportunities in the biggest moments.
DECISIVE WIN
White will tell you that every win is a divisive win, but in the context of the season, the most telling victory was beating a powerful Ulster outfit at Loftus.
Ulster were smarting from a narrow defeat by the Stormers in Cape Town and were insistent that they would leave SA with a victory. For 40 minutes, in an outstanding first half, they were true to their word as they dictated proceedings in Pretoria.
Come the second 40 and the Coetzee-inspired Bulls changed gears to turn a deficit into a 34-16 victory. It was their best 40 of the league season and confirmation they could beat the biggest teams in the league.
NEXT:
Quarter-final vs Sharks at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (4 June)
