‘I’m proud of the boys for stepping up,’ says Bulls captain Coetzee
· Citizen
Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee was extremely happy with the efforts of his team as a powerful first half performance helped them cruise to a thumping 40-7 win over high flying Welsh side Cardiff in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at Loftus on Friday night.
Heading into the match Cardiff were sitting fifth on the log and had beaten Leinster in their last outing, while the Bulls sat eighth and are in a big battle for a place in the top eight.
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But the Highveld side proved to be too strong, and produced the perfect response after their disappointing URC derby home loss against the Stormers last weekend.
“It was a disappointing loss for us last week. We had a lot of things to reflect on, culture wise and tactical wise on the field,” explained a smiling Coetzee after the match.
“But I think we managed to stick to the plan and we managed to grind out a good win. So I am proud of the boys for stepping up and delivering after last week.
“Our DNA here at the Bulls is we thrive on our set piece, and that is something that didn’t function for us last weekend. We as forwards had to take that on the chin, we took ownership of that, and managed to create a plan where we could disrupt Cardiff tonight.”
Papier statement
Livewire scrumhalf Embrose Papier enjoyed a superb outing for the Bulls, perhaps making a statement to the Springbok management after he wasn’t invited to their alignment camp earlier this month, and put in a try-scoring man-of-the-match performance.
“It was a tough game, Cardiff is a tough side. They are fifth on the log for a reason and we knew in the week that it was going to be tough,” said Papier during a pitch side TV interview.
“We knew that they are a side that likes to kick a lot and that the aerial battle would be important, so we were aware of that and I think our wingers did really well.
“Also Pollie (Handre Pollard) and the other game drivers put us in the correct areas of the field, and that made a big difference.” The Bulls will now hope to build on this performance as they prepare to host Irish giants Munster in their next URC match at Loftus next week Saturday.