Marcell Coetzee makes blunt assessment about his Springboks chances

Bulls flank Marcell Coetzee has admitted that his chances of making the Springboks Rugby World Cup squad are slim. Coetzee recently returned to Pretoria from a stint in Japan with the Kobe Steelers and he is currently helping the Bulls put up a fight for the Currie Cup title.

Last capped in the July 2022 loss to Wales in Bloemfontein, the 32-year-old was not included in Jacques Nienaber’s 33-man squad for preparation camp in Durban last week.

The loose forwards in that squad were Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siyamthanda Kolisi, Evan Roos, Albertus Smith, Marco van Staden and Duane Vermeulen. There were also Deon Fourie and Franco Mostert, who were labelled as utility forwards.

“If you play rugby in South Africa, and in a World Cup year especially, you always want to put your name in the hat,” said Coetzee. “You are trying to just be consistent with your performance. But I’m going to be honest – at this stage, there are no chats going around. I’m content with where I am in my career. I am happy to be here with the Bulls.

“I just came back from Japan and I've settled again with the Bulls family, so I am very happy. At the end of the day, you can only control what you can and they [the Springboks coaches] have hard jobs picking the best team and you wish them all the best with that process. At the end of the day, you are just focusing on what you can control, and you leave the rest for fate.”

The Bulls are heading into their round 14 Currie Cup clash against the Cheetahs needing a win to secure their spot in the play-offs. Jake White’s team have been on a good run of form in recent weeks, especially away from home, and they want to carry that momentum as far as possible.

“After the disappointment of the URC, the group remained the same,” said Coetzee. “We were consistent in team selections and the system took care of itself. It is good to get that momentum, but you are only as good as your last game and this week is going to be a proper game for us where we can measure ourselves.

“If we are going to win this Currie Cup, we are going to have to prep ourselves to win it away (from home) and that is a few boxes we managed to tick along the way.”