Coetzee praises Bulls reset after slump as crunch Jukskei Derby looms

Bulls skipper Marcell Coetzee feels a return to the Bulls DNA has helped reignite a campaign that had threatened to implode with a seven-match losing streak across the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup. 

The Bulls players return from their recent European tour with a spring in their step after back-to-back wins against Pau and Edinburgh, and their place in the Champions Cup play-offs secured. They are now gearing up for a fierce URC derby against the Lions at Ellis Park this Saturday (2.30pm kickoff).

Coetzee said they always felt like they were about to turn the corner, even in the midst of their wretched run of losses that piled the pressure on coach Johan Ackermann. 

“We always knew we were in the fight in those previous games and I think our defence really took a massive step up, especially on tour,” he said at an online media conference on Tuesday. “We managed to just rectify the previous games’ mistakes – those soft moments that really cost us, and our discipline. 

“So it was kind of a build-up towards the point where we knew it will turn, things will work out our way, the ball will bounce right for us. Luckily for us, touring away and playing a quality Pau side and Edinburgh things managed to click.”

This Bulls team seems to have been torn between Ackermann’s expansive style of play and their dominant power-based game that has been a hallmark of successful Bulls teams for years. And Coetzee credits a return to their roots for the uptick in fortunes. 

“I think traditionally for the Bulls we really pride ourselves on our set pieces and we managed to get reward from our set piece penalties from scrums and the maul really worked well the previous game,” he said. 

“In general, it’s about just making smart decisions on the field: when to kick and when to run, finding that right balance and rhythm to the game. I think as the continuity built with the team selections, we really managed to execute that well, and just overall being a bit more physical on defence. 

“I think our defence wasn’t really on par before that and we really had a hard look at ourselves and the defence coaches have really been working hard to get is into the right frame of what’s expected from us, and I think there was  buy-in from the players and everyone.”   

The Bulls have never lost to the Lions at Ellis Park in the URC but Ivan van Rooyen's charges inflicted a rare defeat on the Bulls at Loftus the last time the sides met. Coetzee was eager to downplay any talk of revenge, however.

"I think with any derby game in South Africa, both teams really get up for it. Your previous record doesn't really matter, it's which ream pitches up on the day and uses their opportunities," he said.

“We want to keep that momentum going in the URC. It’s still a fight; every game counts and you can’t really afford to have soft moments against a side like the Lions because they will  punish you for that.”

The Bulls sit just outside the play-off places in ninth in the URC table with 20 points, while the Lions are in seventh place, with 24 points. The weekend’s matches are the last before the URC takes a break to accommodate the Six Nations.