Coetzee: Bulls not concerned with having it the easiest of the SA teams

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee said his side are not concerned about talk of them having the easiest run-in of South Africa’s teams in the final four regular-season matches of the United Rugby Championship.

The Bulls, embroiled in a fierce mid-table battle in eighth, now face four of the five bottom teams before the knockouts start at the end of May.

Last year’s finalists take on 15th-placed Dragons at Rodney Parade on Friday night (kick-off 8.45pm) before facing 14th-placed Scarlets the following week.

Then they return home to host bottom-ranked Zebre Parma and 12th-placed Benetton before the quarterfinals.

This, compared to their Gauteng rivals, the Lions, who host leaders Glasgow Warriors and then Connacht, before travelling to previous winners Leinster and Munster.

‘Never look down on any opposition’

“If you play for this team and it’s values and culture, you will never look down on any opposition,” said Coetzee.

“You respect the opposition, what they bring, no matter where they lie on the log. You have to prepare yourself every week as if you’re playing the best team in the world.”

He said he had learned that rugby can humble a player very quickly if they become complacent.

“You don’t pay too much thought on where they are on the log. For us it’s achieving our goals to make playoffs.

“We know we have to fix a few things in our own game and give it our all now. Every game is now vital and you can’t rely on other results to do you favours.”

Bulls take it one game at a time in the final sprint

Flyhalf Handré Pollard agreed that no game could be taken lightly in the business end of the season.

For that reason, the Bulls are well aware they may have to adapt to difficult conditions in Wales, after training in Toulon, France, since their Champions Cup last-16 exit at Glasgow Warriors.

The Bull will also have at the back of their minds the small chance of moving up into fourth place. Leinster hold that spot, just six points above the Bulls.

With bonus-point wins and other results playing out in their favour, the Pretoria side could climb the ladder and potentially end up in a spot where they could host a playoff or two.

“We are going to take it week by week. Every result from other teams or how you do, determines how [it pans out] towards the end,” Coetzee added.

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