Marcell Coetzee aims to put his double Rugby World Cup disappointment behind him by starring for the Springboks in their series against the British & Irish Lions in 2021, but in the meantime his full focus is on helping Ulster to Pro14 and European success.
Coetzee started the season late because of the ankle injury that put him out of consideration for the Bok squad that won the Rugby World Cup in such convincing style in Yokohama on November 2.
He wasn’t part of his team’s convincing opening Pro14 win over the Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium, and he had to watch his teammates lose 63-26 to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in their second match.
However, the former Sharks looseforward made his return when Ulster bounced back to win their second tour match against the Southern Kings and has been in the thick of it ever since in helping his Irish province to second position in Conference A, with the narrow defeat to Munster their only other blemish to date.
PREPARATION: Coetzee will use Ulster to get fit in preparation for the British and Irish Lions Tour. Picture: Darren Kidd.
“We were not proud of that performance against the Cheetahs but it helped in that we were quickly able to decide what our weak points were and what we needed to improve on,” said Coetzee.
“We went into training on the Monday in Cape Town knowing what we needed to do to break back, and we did that.”
While Coetzee’s short-term focus is on helping Ulster be successful in their upcoming competitions, he admits he does now have his eye on the iconic series against the British & Irish Lions that will be played on South African soil in 2021.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/marcell_coetzee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marcell_coetzeeindividual highlights v Southern Kings 👊💪 pic.twitter.com/SrfWDwYmh7
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby)
“Playing against the Lions is definitely my long term goal, it would be great if I can do that,” he said.
“But my focus and energy must be on Ulster. If I do that and perform consistently, and the team performs consistently, then ultimately a door may open and we can see where it goes from there.”
Coetzee admits he was probably the most passionate and perhaps loudest Bok supporter in Ireland during the World Cup:
“We were fans before being rugby players so that never dies in us. I shout a lot at the TV and I shout at the referees. It’s a good thing they can’t hear me. I have great mates in the Bok team, particularly someone like Pieter-Steph (du Toit), and I shared their joy.”
African News Agency