By Gavin Rich.
The Vodacom Bulls will return to United Rugby Championship action against the Ospreys on Saturday without their talismanic captain of the past few years, but forwards coach Russell Winter reckons it is a challenge that the franchise has the players to meet.
Marcell Coetzee played his last game for the Bulls when they beat the Cell C Sharks four weeks ago before heading to Japan on sabbatical.
He will return to Pretoria after six months and finish off his rugby career as a Bulls player, but he was so influential in the Bulls’ success since the return from Covid in 2019 that it was understandable that the subject of life without Coetzee should be a prime subject of the first online press conference ahead of Saturday’s return to action against the Ospreys.
The Bulls ended the initial phase of the season on a winning note in the home derby against the Bulls, with Coetzee, as he always does, leading from the front. His absence will leave a void to be filled, and the Bulls will also be this week without a similar moulded player in the form of Marco van Staden, who is on the Springbok bench in their game against England at Twickenham.
For most teams that would be a savage blow, but Winter says the Bulls have enough looseforward depth to be able to take it in their stride.
“It goes without saying that both those guys will be missed as they are two unbelievable players,” said Winter.
“Marco will of course be coming back to us (after his business with the Boks is done) and we look forward to that as he is a good man and good player with a massive influence around the field. Marcell is a born leader and someone who stood out for us every single week. They are both players we will definitely miss.
“But in saying that, we have Cyle Brink coming back from injury, and we have Elrigh Louw back (from South Africa A duty). Nizaam Carr is also back with us (from his sojourn with English club Wasps), and there are a lot of other players in the system eager to get a chance who have a lot of ability. I’d say we have guys with high capabilities, and we have good depth at looseforward with several guys ready to step into the shoes of the players that are absent and do a good job for us.”
The Bulls haven’t got as many current Boks on their books as the Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers have, with Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Van Staden and Johan Goosen the only players absent through national duty. A clutch of players returned from the South Africa A tour and some are also back from injury since the break, leaving the Bulls in what Winter reckons is a good space for this week’s game.
“Johan Grobbelaar is back with us after being away with injury and while he is probably a week away from playing it is very exciting to have him back in training,” said the forwards coach.
“We have tremendous depth at hooker and having him back adds to that depth. We have also had other guys, such as Simphiwe (Mtanzima) and Ruan (Nortje) return from the South Africa A tour, and it feels like, with the exception of the Boks that are away, we have a full squad working again. That is a good feeling.”
The Ospreys will be understrength at Loftus due to the Wales national team calling on them for the game against Australia in Cardiff on Saturday, but Winter stressed that there was no danger of the Bulls underestimating them, particularly given the desperate mood Welsh rugby is in right now following Wales’ loss to Georgia.
“We played in Wales last year and discovered it is one of the proudest rugby nations. They are hurting now so we have got to take them seriously. When teams of their standard go through hurt you always know they will click at some point. They are just too good and too proud not to come back. We are definitely not preparing for a team that is battling, but a team that is hurting and determined.
“They have a good pedigree in players and a long proud history, they can click at any time, and someone like Alun Wyn Jones has massive influence at the club. They are a difficult team to beat, and we saw them draw with the Stormers. If you take them lightly, you can get burnt very quickly.”