Marcell Coetzee

Marcell Cornelius Coetzee (born 8 May 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who is the captain for South African side the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship. He plays as a flanker.

Marcell Coetzee

Full name	Marcell Cornelius Coetzee
Date of birth	(1991-05-08) 8 May 1991 (age 34)
Place of birth	Potchefstroom, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	117 kg (18 st 6 lb; 258 lb)[1]
School	Port Natal High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker Current team Bulls / Blue Bulls Youth career 2010–2011 Sharks Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2011–2013 Sharks XV 8 (15) 2011–2013 Sharks (Currie Cup) 24 (5) 2011–2016 Sharks 74 (70) 2015–2016 Honda Heat 9 (15) 2016–2021 Ulster 57 (75) 2021– Bulls 60 (80) 2021– Blue Bulls 8 (10) 2022–2023 Kobelco Kobe Steelers 10 (20) Correct as of 4 January 2023 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2012– South Africa 31 (30) 2015 Springbok XV 1 (0) Correct as of 4 January 2023

South Africa

Coetzee made his debut in Super Rugby for the Sharks against the Brumbies on Saturday 7 May 2011.^[2] He has offloading skills that have been likened to those of Sonny Bill Williams.^[3]

Heyneke Meyer, Springboks coach, included him in the national squad to face England in a test series where Coetzee made his Springbok test debut on 9 June 2012 in Durban.^[4]

Top League

Coetzee joined Japanese Top League side Honda Heat for the 2015–2016 season.^[5]

Ulster Rugby

In February 2016, it was announced that he would join Irish Pro12 side Ulster on a three-year deal starting in the 2016–2017 season.^[6] Coetzee featured sparingly in his first two seasons with Ulster, due to recurring knee injury problems.^[7] Coetzee was the 2020–21 joint top try-scorer (9) and the 2020–21 Pro14 Players' Player of the Season in his final season with Ulster.^[8]

Return to South Africa

In December 2020 the Bulls confirmed that Coetzee would join the franchise in June 2021 on a three-year deal.^[9]

Honours

• Currie Cup winner 2021
• Pro14 Rainbow Cup runner-up 2021
• United Rugby Championship runner-up 2021–22
• Players' Player of the Season Guinness PRO14 2020–21
• Top try scorer United Rugby Championship 2020–21, 2021–22
• Selected in the United Rugby Championship "Dream Team" 2020–21, 2021–22

Springbok statistics

Test Match Record

Against	Pld	W	D	L	Tri	Con	Pen	DG	Pts	%Won
Argentina	4	3	1	0	2	0	0	0	10	75
Australia	4	2	0	2	1	0	0	0	5	50
England	5	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	80
Ireland	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	5	50
Italy	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	100
New Zealand	4	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	25
Scotland	4	4	0	0	2	0	0	0	10	100
Wales	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	26	17	2	7	6	0	0	0	30	65.38

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Con = Conversions, Pen = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points Scored

International Tries

Try	Opposing team	Location	Venue	Competition	Date	Result
1	Argentina	Cape Town, South Africa	Newlands Stadium	2012 Rugby Championship	18 August 2012	Won 27-6
2	Scotland	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium	Mid-year rugby test series	28 June 2014	Won 55-6
3	Scotland	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium	Mid-year rugby test series	28 June 2014	Won 55-6
4	Argentina	Salta, Argentina	Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena	2014 Rugby Championship	23 August 2014	Won 33-31
5	Australia	Cape Town, South Africa	Newlands Stadium	2014 Rugby Championship	27 September 2014	Won 28-10
6	Ireland	Dublin, Ireland	Aviva Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	8 November 2014	Lost 15-29