Hungry Coetzee is ready to maul Tigers
WHEN Ulster made a deal to sign Marcell Coetzee back in the spring of 2016, it was games like tomorrow’s with Leicester Tigers (5.30pm kick-off ) that they will have had in mind.
The increase in physicality that comes with Champions Cup action will have seemed tailor-made for the South African powerhouse who, with 28 Springbok caps to his name, had already proven his ability at the very highest level.
That this weekend will be his first outing in Europe speaks volumes of the injury problems he has endured since.
Three knee operations have been endured since that contract was first signed and only five games were managed in his first two seasons in Belfast.
While Coetzee could have been forgiven for cutting his stay short, looking at the injuries and deciding he would be better served seeing if a return home would bring with it a change in fortune.
The 27-year old wanted instead to repay Ulster for their faith during the struggles.
“I have to give credit to Ulster for sticking with me that long,” he said.
“I don’t know of a club that would stick with a player in the modern day that has as many issues as I had.
“I have had two, three surgeries since I got here and I really want to thank Ulster and the fans for being supportive through that time.
“The biggest challenge was getting back on the field and just handling that process.
“Rehabbing, as much as it’s physical, it’s mental, but I have a great support system, a great family at home, a great wife who stuck with me through that.
“Whenever I step off the field now and I’m 100%, that’s what I think of first before anything else and I’m just grateful for that.”
Coetzee’s contract is up at the end of the season and he admits such shows of faith will be a factor when he sits down and decides where he’ll play his rugby moving forward.
“That’s out of my hands in the future,” he said. “But I’ll always cherish that and it’ll be a factor when I’m making big decisions going forward.”
Coetzee has played five of the six games so far, a shoulder knock that kept him out of the Munster game already healed up, and he says he is itching to get out there once again tomorrow.
“I’ve been waiting two years for this,” he said of his European bow.
“Things didn’t go my way in the past seasons but, fortunately, I’ve been blessed to get the chance to play in this tournament now and hopefully it’ll be a good one this weekend.
“It’s a great tournament to be a part of. You take the teams in it and it’s a good platform to measure where you are as a team.
“It’s definitely an electrifying atmosphere and we’re just looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s always a process coming back in the beginning from those long injuries. In terms of the body, I feel good.
“I did my shoulder against the Cheetahs and that broke the momentum a bit but luckily I got back on the horse quickly and this weekend I’ll be 100% ready to go.”
While perhaps lacking the explosive carries of those first Ulster outings, Coetzee has been a real presence at the breakdown and has been credited with 10 turnovers already this season.
Having been out for so long, he admits there is something of a mental hurdle at first but doesn’t feel he has had to change his style of play.
“That first couple of games you want to get the monkey off your back, get that confidence. I’m not really thinking about it now, I want to focus on my own game and get to where I was before the injury and just keep building on that,” he said.
“I think that’s where the rehab comes in. It’s more psychological. How confident you are in your body, what’s responding to the hits.