Veteran Vodacom Bulls loose forward Marcell Coetzee has inspired young gun Cameron Hanekom to take his game to another level.
Hanekom has made a name for himself as a brilliant ball-carrying No 8 who is a serious poaching threat at the breakdown, a skill the 22-year-old has honed in his short but impactful career.
“You only get a split second to decide whether to go for it or to fold to keep width on defence,” Hanekom said yesterday. “I’ve made some silly mistakes in the past, when I went into too many rucks and didn’t get rewarded for it. When I do go into a ruck, I have the confidence to give it my absolute best. I can’t go into it half-half.”
Hanekom said he didn’t want his defensive contribution to be limited to the breakdown and that he had worked hard to improve his tackling.
“If I play with a guy like Marcell, who makes 31 tackles in game [against Munster last Saturday] then I need to raise my game so I don’t disappoint him. He’s a good role model.
“Tackling has been my biggest work-on. There were a couple games where I wasn’t good enough in that area and I’ve worked hard to be more consistent.”
STATE OF THE URC: Bulls rumble into Glasgow for revenge
Hanekom said he is looking forward to Friday night’s Vodacom URC match against defending champions Glasgow and the loose-trio battle in particular.
The Warriors are without South African flank Henco Venter, serving a six-week suspension for foul play, but still able to field a strong back row comprised of Scotland flanks Matt Fagerson and Rory Darge, and Tonga No 8 Sione Vailanu.
“They’ve played international rugby so it’s going to be a good match-up,” said Hanekom. “Marcell and I are always up for a challenge, we want to play against those big names. That’s who you want to get measured against. So we’re definitely going to go out there and try to prove a point.”
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The post Cam: I don’t want to disappoint Marcell appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
