Marcell Coetzee says the Vodacom Bulls must dominate the collisions against Glasgow on Friday night if they are to gain revenge for last season’s Vodacom URC final defeat.
The Bulls went into that decider at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld as heavy favourites only to surrender a 13-0 lead and lose 21-16.
After last week’s historic 16-13 win against Munster at Thomond Park, Bulls coach Jake White said his players had during the pre-season marked their calendars for this rematch, and that Glasgow was “always going to be the game that we were going to go hard for”.
MORE: Beating Munster ‘massive’ for Bulls – Jake
“It’s going to be a tough task coming up against a quality Glasgow team but we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Coetzee said on Tuesday.
“It is the fourth week of our tour [that began with the Challenge Cup playoffs] and it was a very tough game against Munster and an exceptional win, one of my most special wins,” he added.
“I must compliment management and the S&C team, they’ve really looked after us very well over the past couple of days, helping us to reset and recover. We’re looking forward to the challenge and by no means do we have one foot on the plane.”
Coetzee said “the battle of the collisions” at Scotstoun Stadium would be decisive as the Bulls look to leapfrog Glasgow into second spot on the URC log.
“If you can manage to stop that first contact it will have a ripple effect on the next phase and then we can pick our breakdown steals when we feel they are exposed.
“They are a very wide-to-wide team as well – they’re not just a set-piece-driven side, they’ve got a lot of mini-moves in play and are a tough team to analyse. But as I said, the biggest thing for us is to dominate the collisions.”
Coetzee was sidelined for six weeks earlier this year due to a concussion, before making his return against Leinster at Loftus on 22 March. Since then, he has found his best form, making 31 tackles against Munster.
“The concussion was a tough one to take,” he said. “The symptoms lasted longer than we anticipated. It kind of gave me a scare … how quickly this game can be taken away from you. It makes you humble, in a sense, and to appreciate every minute you get with the boys and game time as well.
“So I think I just transferred all that energy towards enjoyment and fulfilling my service for the team. This tour has been really special and for me, it’s just a big appreciation for the game.”
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
