Bulls defy odds with impressive away record: Marcell Coetzee shares team secret

South African teams seldom win more away games than they lose – but that is what the Bulls have achieved this season.

Despite being knocked out of the Champions Cup after the group stage, the Pretoria side are sitting pretty in third spot on the United Rugby Championship log, and are now in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

Last weekend’s 32-22 victory over Bayonne in France was their sixth triumph out of 10 away matches this season, which equalled their home win tally – although they’ve played one less fixture at Loftus Versfeld.

So, what’s the secret to their success? The captain against Bayonne, loose forward Marcell Coetzee, led from the front by being chosen as the Player of the Match at the Stade Jean Dauger.

The 33-year-old Coetzee showed that there is still significant fire in his belly as he charged forward on numerous occasions to get the Bulls over the advantage line, made some crucial interventions in defence and contested the breakdowns fiercely.

Coetzee ended with 14 tackles and 13 carries, and while he applauded the overall team effort, he felt that being away from home aided their cohesion.

“We’ve grown immensely as the season has progressed, especially in the last couple of weeks. In the previous games, we let ourselves down by our own doing, where we had soft moments,” the 31-Test Springbok said this week.

“Sometimes things didn’t work out and we were not accurate, and then the opposition get 22 entries.

“But I think we managed to limit that to an extent (against Bayonne), just going back to what works for us as a group.

“We love our set-piece, details, and the backs also had an awesome game, giving us good pictures, and seeing the tries that we scored, it was just phenomenal.

“The secret is the enjoyment we are trying to get out of the tour. It forces you to spend a lot of time with the guys, and really get to know them on a different level preparation-wise.

“We see each other every day, so we can always manage to cover something if it was missed.

“It’s just a lot of time that goes into it behind the scenes. We try to get the balance right between enjoyment and also being professional.

“That’s really been a work in progress and recipe for us.”

But while Coetzee was delighted with the victory in France, the Bulls know that they can’t expect an easy outing against Edinburgh in Saturday’s Challenge Cup quarter-final at the Hive Stadium, just outside Murrayfield.

Edinburgh beat the Lions 24-12 in last week’s round of 16 clash, and their coach Sean Everitt will know the Bulls well, having spent some time as part of Jake White’s management at Loftus.

“Edinburgh have a lot of internationals as well, and it’s a different challenge. So, it’s about getting the bodies to recover,” Coetzee said.

“Because of our hit-outs in the past, we more or less know what to expect. But they change things up in recent times, and one thing about the Scottish sides is that it’s never an easy game going abroad.

“They make you work hard for it. They are a proud nation, proud team in Edinburgh as well. They are smart in how they go about things.

“On the day, we can’t really afford soft moments, or let ourselves down with silly mistakes. You have to be accurate at all times against Edinburgh if you want to come out on top, and obviously we just need to build on our foundations that are working for us.

“I think the breakdowns are going to be a big contest. They have some internationals there, and know how to play smart around the breakdowns.

“It’s going to be a tough battle for us, and we can’t be slow to win those races.

“We don’t know how the weather is going to pan out, but the wind can have an influence, so our kicking game is going to be massive, making sure we play in the right areas.

“Just to back up what we did against Bayonne, where our set-pieces were good on the day and managed to put us in good areas. The nine and 10 really controlled things well, with the back-three.

“It’s a knockout mindset that you have to approach it with, and you just have to be accurate on the day.”

Bulls Home Record: P 9 W 6 L 3

Bulls 22-16 Edinburgh, Bulls 47-21 Ulster, Bulls 21-30 Northampton, Bulls 48-7 Stade Francais, Bulls 19-29 Sharks, Bulls 31-19 Lions, Bulls 16-19 Stormers, Bulls 21-20 Leinster, Bulls 63-24 Zebre

Bulls away record: P10 W 6 L4

Bulls 29-19 Ospreys, Bulls 22-23 Scarlets, Bulls 17-15 Benetton, Bulls 28-14 Connacht, Bulls 5-27 Saracens, Bulls 17-20 Sharks, Bulls 10-49 Castres, Bulls 35-22 Lions, Bulls 33-32 Stormers, Bulls 32-22 Bayonne