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Marcell Coetzee (Twitter – Ulster Rugby)
Springbok loose forward Marcell coetzee dazzled as he scored four attempts in his 50th appearance for Ulster on Monday night.
The Irish team maintained their undefeated march in PRO14 by crushing Italian team Zebre 57-14 in Parma.
Coetzee’s great play for the Belfast team easily underscored how important he is to Dan McFarland’s team, as he dominated not only the scoreboard but also the statistics.
His hat-trick came in the first half, ensuring that the result was never in doubt, and his overall impact was felt throughout the game. With 15 successful carries, two turnovers and a 100% tackle rate, Coetzee could do little else to mark his dominance in the game.
Coetzee started his volley in the fifth minute, opening the scoring for the Ulstermen, a score that was quickly disallowed when Antonio Rizzi struck back almost immediately for Zebre.
But then, with Ulster’s maul in good shape, he broke Zebre’s defense and Coetzee’s arm was stretched out for the second. His third was a brutal barge just before the break.
Early in the second half, Coetzee won a superb turnover that led to Luke Marshall’s try before adding his fourth from the back of the maul.
The victory maintained the Irish dominance of the competition and Ulster’s unbeaten streak, tying champion Leinster with six wins in six games, but only behind as they were two bonus points down.
Leinster was unstoppable, compounding Richard Cockerill’s nightmare season when they scored their sixth straight win in bonus points with a 50-10 thrashing over Edinburgh.
Leinster raced on eight attempts to once again underscore their superiority in the contest, with South African scrum half Nic Groom getting the only consolation attempt for Edinburgh on a night they would rather forget.
The two results, combined with Munster’s victory over the Ospreys on Sunday to confirm his best start in 11 years under coach Johann van Graan, continued the Irish dominance of the tournament.
Munster won 38-22 thanks to a Gavin Coombes hat-trick, which cemented his best start to the competition since 2008.
Coombes, who filled the regular boots of No. 8 CJ Stander, continued his love affair with Welsh teams, after scoring twice against Cardiff Blues earlier in the season and putting the Limerick team atop the standings in the Conference B with an eight point lead over Cardiff Blues.
The Welsh teams had a better weekend as Scarlets edged Connacht 20-14 on Saturday to avoid another Irish sweep and give them back-to-back victories. Connacht’s disappointment was confounded by the fact that his last two matches had been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreaks.
Cardiff managed to end a three-game losing streak with a 22-5 victory over Benetton in Rodney Parade.
Benetton had not played since the third round, mainly due to matches postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and still needs to record a win after four games in the competition.
PRO14 results:
Connacht 14-20 scarlet
Munster 38-22 Ospreys
Zebra 14-57 Ulster
Cardiff Blues 22-5 Benetton
Leinster 50-10 Edinburgh
– PRO14 medium
