When the Vodacom Bulls’ Marcell Coetzee asked John Whittaker how he was doing this week, Whittaker’s eyes started to fill with tears. For the proud Scotsman, this Vodacom Bulls team has been a literal lifesaver for him in his battle with cancer.
As the Vodacom Bulls prepare for their fifth consecutive appearance in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Playoffs, Marcell Coetzee has a deep feeling within himself that this is a very special moment for his team.
The Vodacom Bulls head into this weekend’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture against the Emirates Lions well aware that mistakes are costly at this point in the season, and that the local Derbies in particular can expose this even further.
Marcell Coetzee is confident that the Vodacom Bulls will reap the rewards of the Rugby World Cup experience some of their young stars will gain as they look to the coming season.
Marcell Coetzee puts down his coffee and says it from his heart. “I’m gutted,” he says of not being able to join his Vodacom Bulls teammates in Cape Town on Saturday for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the DHL Stormers. And then you see the fire in his eyes when he predicts that this particular edition of the famous South African Derby will be close to a Test match.
Marcell Coetzee has wasted no time making a big impact in Japan and has already been asked to take over the captaincy of his Japanese team the Kobelco Kobe Steelers in only his fourth match there.
Coach Jacques Nienaber has invited 17 players to the Springbok camp assembling in Pretoria on Monday as the world champions prepare to host Wales in July.
Marcell Coetzee can’t wait to lead the Vodacom Bulls in the European Champions Cup, saying “it’s like playing international rugby every weekend”.
Bulls chief Jake White can’t understand why Jacques Nienaber chose not to invite Test veteran Marcell Coetzee to the Springbok alignment camps.
If the Vodacom Bulls could land the signature of another top Bok such as Marcell Coetzee it would be a further step in the right direction, writes CRAIG LEWIS. (more…)