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Concussion spurred on Coetzee's incredible form

football23 April 2025 10:25
By:Brenden Nel
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Marcell Coetzee © Gallo Images

It may be a bit flippant to suggest a knock to the head changes things. Especially in the times of head injuries in rugby and its impact on the game over the past few seasons.

But for Vodacom Bulls loose forward Marcell Coetzee it really made a massive difference.

Coetzee was sidelined with a concussion earlier in the season, a startling wake-up call for a player who plays at 100 per cent, and when the symptoms didn’t subside as quickly as possible, he had a scare.

There is more than enough evidence nowadays of the complicated results of head knocks in rugby players, and the studies that have gone on with it.

Back then, Coetzee said on the side of the practice field that he realised how many concussions he had during his career, and while there hadn’t been one for a few years, it was a realisation that woke him up to the reality of the situation.

And while the medical team kept him on the sidelines for a few weeks more, it changed his outlook a bit for the game he loves dearly.

A father now, his thoughts turned to other things, and the realisation filtered through that if he is in the last part of his career now, he needs to make it count.

There are few that have watched the Bulls over the past few weeks that would argue that he did just that.

His form has been exceptional - and Coetzee has won a few man of the match awards hands down that it wasn’t even a contest.

Last weekend against Munster it was even more spectacular. A shift in workload that saw him make 31 tackles - that’s a monster number in anyone’s book.

And when it came to dominant tackles - there were seven - an unbelievable number for a single player in a single game.

It has made it hard to ignore the form he is in at the moment, which has come at the right time for the Bulls after losing Elrigh Louw earlier in the season.

And Coetzee admits that the concussion was a big factor in his shift in form in recent weeks.

“The concussion was a tough one to take,” he said.

“The symptoms lasted longer than we anticipated. It kind of gave me a scare - a reminder of how quickly this game can be taken away from you. It makes you humble, in a sense, and to appreciate every minute you get with the boys and game time as well.

“So I think I just transferred all that energy towards enjoyment and fulfilling my service for the team. This tour has been really special and for me, it’s just a big appreciation for the game.”

Physical domination remains a key factor for the Bulls and they will want a similar shift going into the game against defending champions Glasgow Warriors this weekend.

The stakes are high and the winner will likely finish second on the log - so there is more than enough to play for.

While Coetzee didn’t entertain the war of words that has been going on ahead of the game, he did underline the importance of the fixture, and while he didn’t say it, it is likely there will be a bit more needle after Glasgow’s Grand Final win last season at Loftus Versfeld.

“It’s going to be a tough task coming up against a quality Glasgow team but we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Coetzee said about the fixture.

“If you can manage to stop that first contact it will have a ripple effect on the next phase and then we can pick our breakdown steals when we feel they are exposed.

“They are a very wide-to-wide team as well – they’re not just a set-piece-driven side, they’ve got a lot of mini-moves in play and are a tough team to analyse. But as I said, the biggest thing for us is to dominate the collisions.”

Coetzee added there is a freshness and a bounce that the Munster win has added to the team that has negated the normal fourth tour week blues.

“It is the fourth week of our tour and it was a very tough game against Munster and an exceptional win, one of my most special wins,” he added.

“I must compliment management and the S&C team, they’ve really looked after us very well over the past couple of days, helping us to reset and recover. We’re looking forward to the challenge and by no means do we have one foot on the plane.”

The Bulls will name their side for the clash on Friday.

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