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Marcell Coetzee in action for Ulster.
Athena Pictures / Getty Images
There are many doubts about South Africa’s preparation for possible participation in the Rugby Championship, but one player who would definitely be ready to face any Springbok challenge if required is Ulster No. 8. Marcell coetzee.
The former Sharks forward, who has been linked to a possible homecoming with the Bulls as a likely destination, continues to shine at PRO14 and was a star for Ulster in their impressive 24-12 away win over the Ospreys. in Swansea. weekend.
The man credited with the most carries at PRO14 last year was described as “one of the best loose forwards in the Northern Hemisphere” in post-game reports and in evidence of his dominant performance that is not overstated. .
A decision on South Africa’s participation in the Rugby Championship is expected on Monday, but even if the Boks don’t go to Australia, Coetzee should have a good outlook for next year’s British & Irish Lions series.
That will partly make up for the bad luck he’s had to keep him from being a part of the last two Springbok World Cup seasons.
Coetzee scored on Ulster’s second attempt, he was a relentless force across the field and his assist played a role in the first attempt scored by fullback Jacob Stockdale.
The Ulster rower seemed to do several meters each time he had a ball in his hand and played an important role in moving his team forward.
Speaking of the South African-born No. 8s playing in PRO14, there was another one in the fore in the significant victory that Johan van Graan’s Munster scored over the defeated finalists in 2019/2020 Edinburgh.
Unfortunately for Springbok fans, Riversdale alumnus CJ Stander He is now well established with Ireland and never played for the land of his birth, but his influence in his adopted country remains immense.
Stander capped off a great all-out game by finishing off a typical forwards try in the 78th minute that tied Munster with Edinburgh at 23, with Ben Healy, who had missed an important kick earlier, kicking the winning conversion to give the Irish province obtained a 25-23 victory that boosted morale and thus maintained his undefeated record after two rounds.
Another South African international overseas, Scotland prop WP Nel, crashed in one of the Edinburgh attempts and the former midfielder of the Lions and Bulls Jaco van der Walt He continued his accumulation of points with a good display of kicking off the tee.
It was a home game for Munster, so Van Graan won’t get too excited and might be concerned that it took his men 77 minutes to cross the line as they dominated much of the game from later in the first half onwards.
However, he is in a better position than Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill, who saw his team fall to their fifth consecutive loss in all competitions, a slump that began with their last loss to Ulster in the 2019 semi-final / 2020 in Murrayfield.
His Scottish teammate Glasgow Warriors, who is also loaded with South Africans, came off the mark in the current edition of the competition when they took an impressive 20-7 win over Scarlets in Scotstoun, with the former Western Province and SA U-20s. props Ollie Kebble very at the forefront in your forward endeavor.
Results of the weekend PRO14:
Dragons 26 Zebra 18
Ospreys 12 Ulster 24
Benetton 25 Leinster 37
Munster 25 Edinburgh 23
Cardiff Blues 29 Connacht 7
Glasgow Warriors 20 Scarlets 7
– PRO14 medium
