Cape Town - You can’t entirely rule out the possibility of Marcell Coetzee “doing a Stephen Donald” and making an appearance at the Rugby World Cup in France later this year.
The 32-year-old is capable of playing in all three loose-forward positions equally well, and has been building a good head of steam over the last few weeks for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup.
But the franchise captain himself doesn’t hold out much hope of being part of the 33-player Springbok World Cup squad that will be announced by coach Jacques Nienaber on August 8.
Coetzee featured for the national team last year – for the first time since before the 2019 World Cup – in the second Test against Wales in Bloemfontein, where a number of fringe players were given an opportunity, and while he tried hard to make things happen in his 31st Test, he has been out of the Bok mix since.
Last year’s recall came on the back of an outstanding URC season for Coetzee in leading the Bulls to the final, which they lost to the Stormers.
A six-month stint in Japan wouldn’t have helped his national cause this season, although he would have made the decision to turn out for Kobe Steelers in the knowledge that he was well behind in the Bok loose-forward pecking order at the moment.
Such is the depth in the loose trio that even stalwart No 8 Duane Vermeulen is not guaranteed to make it to France 2023.
“If you play rugby in South Africa – in a World Cup year especially – you always want to put your name in the hat, trying to be consistent in your performances. But I am going to be honest with you: at this stage, there are not really chats going around (from the Bok coaches). But I am content. I am content with where I am in my career,” Coetzee said this week ahead of Saturday’s Currie Cup clash against the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus (3pm kickoff).
“I am happy to be here, having just come back from Japan and settled again nicely with the Bulls family, and happy to contribute to the team.
“At the end of the day, you can control what you can, and they have hard-enough jobs, selecting the best team going to the World Cup. You wish them all the best with that process. You just try to focus on what you can control, and leave all the rest to fate.”
Coetzee was forced to miss the Bulls’ United Rugby Championship quarter-final defeat to the Stormers as he couldn’t be registered in time following his Japanese sojourn.
But he has made a major difference in the Currie Cup, where the Bulls have won all four games that he has been involved in, which has seen the Pretoria side get right back in semi-final contention.
They have to beat the Cheetahs to reach the last-four, though.
“What we did well as a group overall is that we sat together and said, ‘Let’s just go back to our strong points’. We play for each other, make use of our good set-pieces, and we brought in a few changes that we felt we could take forward,” Coetzee said.
“And we just brought in a bit of that enjoyment factor. We are happy with our momentum, and have a few URC players who are making a big difference for us. The task is not completed yet as we have a very important game this weekend, but it is also good to see the growth in the young players and leadership.
“One of my criticisms for the team after the (Griffons) game (last week) was our defence. I didn’t feel that we were right up there. We could have worked harder – myself included – and we were just a bit off, compared to the previous week, where we leaked just one try (against the Pumas).
“Against the Cheetahs, they rely on turnover ball and punish you, and we have to be sharp at those aspects.
“We have a chance to maybe lift the Currie Cup, although we have a few other obstacles to go through. But if you play for this union, you never just want to have a dry season – you want to have something to show for it, especially for someone like me at 32, where the years are getting fewer all the time.”
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